They’re itching for the truth.
New York State lawmakers are pushing a bill that would force the MTA to tell riders about bed bug infestation on trains and buses within 24 hours.
The bill, sponsored by Assemblymember William Colton (D-Brooklyn), would set rules to require the MTA to either post a message on its website or send an alert via email or text about any infestation.
“The MTA – for no good reason – has been resistant about alerting its customers when an infestation has been detected,” Colton said in a statement.
“Millions of New Yorkers use our critically important trains and buses regularly,” Colton added. “They should not have to add ‘will I bring home bed bugs?’ to their list of concerns as they go about their daily life.”
A previous version of the bill passed the Assembly but died in the state Senate, according to representatives. The latest legislation made it through the Assembly last month and is now in the hands of the Senate’s Transportation Committee.
While the apple seed-sized insects aren’t believed to cause disease, bedbugs feed off human blood and can cause red, itchy welts, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The last reported MTA infestation happened in 2018, when the transit authority had to take a half-dozen buses out of service in Manhattan.
Though a passenger reportedly found the bugs crawling on a seat, an MTA investigation found no such critter.
In 2020, a Queens control tower was evacuated and fumigated after workers discovered bed bugs, causing rush hour subway delays.
The city health department’s latest bedbug figures are from 2014 – when approximately 327,000 cases of bed bugs were reported citywide, including 125,000 cases in Brooklyn.
“This is extremely important for residents of New York City and nearby suburbs, who worry – for good reason, because bed bugs are difficult to eradicate once they have taken hold – about encountering bed bugs when they use public transportation,” Colton added.
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