New York Deploys Ultraviolet Disinfection Technology on Subway Cars and Buses

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced plans to use ultraviolet technology to disinfect subways and buses in New York City as part of new safety measures prompted by the coronavirus.

Officials plan to deploy 150 UV devices across a variety of New York City transportation facilities to “test and evaluate the efficiency and cost-effectiveness” of the technology, according to a May 19 MTA press release. The second phase of the operation would include an expansion to Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North.

The MTA announced the program on May 19, and said phase one was slated to launch “early” the following week. The subway system has been closing for cleaning from 1 am to 5 am every night since May 6.

The technology, created by Colorado-based company PURO Lighting, specifically utilizes the “highly germicidal” ultraviolet C.

UVC irradiation “efficiently kills the virus that causes COVID-19,” according to a report conducted by Columbia University’s Dr David Brenner.

“What we are doing here is reducing the level of the virus in subways, and therefore decreasing the risk of anybody catching COVID-19 on the subway,” Brenner said in the MTA press release.

This video, provided by the MTA, shows the UV devices operating within a New York City subway car and bus. Credit: Metropolitan Transportation Authority via Storyful