Council Progressive Caucus Calls for End to MTA EAGLE Teams as Agency Reviews Training

The New York City Council's Progressive Caucus is urging the MTA to permanently eliminate its EAGLE fare enforcement teams following violent clashes with riders, amNewYork reported. The push from lawmakers comes as bus fare checkers are set to return after violent confrontations with New York City riders, according to Patch. CBS News reported that the MTA is currently reviewing the training provided to its EAGLE Teams in the wake of those physical confrontations.

The debate over bus fare enforcement coincides with new performance and safety updates across the transit network. In Queens, the MTA says buses are speeding up a year after the agency carried out a controversial redesign, the Queens Daily Eagle reported. On New York commuter rail lines, felonies have fallen 20.1% even as ridership grows, according to a report by Railway Supply.

State leadership and transit operations also remain a focus of debate among workers and riders. A New York City transit union criticized Hochul over staffing issues, The Center Square reported, while The New York Times examined how Hochul became a surprise champion of the subway. Meanwhile, the New York Daily News reported that readers have been sounding off on subway elevators, biased crime reporting, and election ads.

Inside the stations and trains, commuters are also seeing new commercial displays as the system marks a major anniversary. CryptoRank reported that XRP has taken over New York subway trains as Ripple opens its Swell 2026 event with more than 100 speakers. The week also marked the anniversary of the network's debut: according to a Photo Almanac post on Facebook, when the city's first underground rapid transit system opened on Oct. 27, 1904, it was originally called the Interborough Rapid Transit rather than the New York City Subway, a milestone also noted by WHSV in a feature on the history of the New York City subway system.