MTA CEO Janno Lieber Talks NYC Blizzard

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bloomberg Talks

Episode: MTA CEO Janno Lieber Talks NYC Blizzard

Date: February 23, 2026
Host: Bloomberg
Guest: Janno Lieber, MTA Chair
Reporter: Paul Sweeney

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Overview

This episode of Bloomberg Talks centers on how the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is managing New York City’s transit system during a historic blizzard. MTA Chair Janno Lieber joins live from the crisis center to explain operational challenges, emergency responses, and the impact on commuters and transit workers. The conversation touches on the unique difficulties of running mass transit in extreme weather conditions and offers insights into both strategic planning and frontline adaptation.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Snowstorm Operations and Challenges

• Current Status of Transit (01:48–02:33)
  • Full subway service is running, albeit with reduced frequency.
  • Buses are operating, adapting to the same challenges as any vehicle in snow.
  • Metro-North commuter rail is on a reduced schedule.
  • The Long Island Railroad (LIRR) is suspended due to severe conditions on Long Island.

  “It’s no secret that Long Island is getting hammered and that wasn’t a safe place to operate.”
  — Janno Lieber [01:48]

Impact of Wind and Drifting Snow

• Wind as a Key Factor (02:33–03:34)
  • Drifting snow is a critical operational problem, especially in open-cut subway sections and rail yards, where wind piles up snow and can cover the power-conducting third rail.
  • Visibility issues for buses and trains make wind, not just snow, a decisive element for restoring service, especially on LIRR.

  “The drifting on the commuter railroads sometimes will cover the third rail, our source of power.”
  — Janno Lieber [02:51]

Restoration of Services after Storm

• Resumption Philosophy and Process (03:34–04:40)
  • The MTA prioritizes an orderly shutdown and resumption of service, always aiming for safety first.
  • Special focus is placed on clearing tracks and especially train yards to ensure sufficient rolling stock can be operated after storms.

  “We did an orderly shutdown last night at about 1am—the goal is always to get everybody home. … Safety first, you know, and taking account of where the snow accumulations and the drifting may have impacted on service.”
  — Janno Lieber [03:45]

MTA Workforce: The Unsung Heroes

• Critical Personnel Response (04:48–05:44)
  • MTA has 70,000 employees, many of whom are expected to report to work even when the general public is advised to stay home.
  • Many workers sleep overnight at key facilities (bus garages, command centers) to keep the system running.
  • New York Governor Kathy Hochul called to acknowledge the workforce’s efforts.

  “It’s part of the deal when you sign up to work for the MTA, that you may have to come in under extreme circumstances when the rest of the world is being told to stay home. Our workers are being told to come in, and they do.”
  — Janno Lieber [04:59]

Snowstorm Costs and Metrics

• Storm-Related Financials (05:44–06:32)
  • The MTA doesn’t have a specific cost-per-inch-of-snow metric, unlike the Department of Sanitation.
  • Lieber acknowledges the need for frequent analytics but is stumped by the $1.8 million per inch figure cited for snow removal.

  “You’ve given me a new metric to study, but right now, I have no idea what to say to you.”
  — Janno Lieber [06:06]

Preparedness and Climate Change

• System Resilience and Cumulative Effects (06:32–07:36)
  • Experience with recent storms has enhanced MTA preparedness.
  • Each storm is a separate challenge but offers lessons for future response.
  • MTA’s planning now covers a range of climate change impacts—torrential rain, rising sea levels, and more—not just snow.

  “In the era of climate change, we’re dealing with all kinds of extreme weather events… but those are issues for the MTA as well.”
  — Janno Lieber [06:50]

Anticipating the Morning After

• Bus Stop Access and Sanitation’s Role (07:36–08:50)
  • Department of Sanitation clears bus stops; Parks employees and street-hired shovelers supplement this effort.
  • Goal is to avoid situations where passengers must climb over high snowbanks to board buses.

  “Our friends at the department of sanitation are clearing not just the streets, but the bus stops...so that our bus people who depend on buses will be able to get on and off them without having to climb over a four-foot mine of snow.”
  — Janno Lieber [07:45]

Buses: Old-School Adaptation

• How Buses Brave the Storm (08:50–09:33)
  • Every bus gets chains on its tires before the storm, and articulated buses are taken out of service due to instability in slick conditions.
  • Improved weather forecasting now enables better prep.

  “It's old fashioned stuff...we put chains on the tires of every bus...forecasting is getting better and better. We chain the entire fleet and we take all the articulated buses...out of service.”
  — Janno Lieber [09:06]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Part of the deal working for the MTA…is that you may have to come in under extreme circumstances when the rest of the world is being told to stay home.”
  — Janno Lieber [04:59]
• “You’ve given me a new metric to study, but right now, I have no idea what to say to you.”
  — Janno Lieber responding to the cost-per-inch-of-snow question [06:06]
• “In the era of climate change, we’re dealing with all kinds of extreme weather events…right now, we’re forgetting about torrential rainfall and rising sea levels, but those are issues for the MTA as well.”
  — Janno Lieber [06:50]
• “Old fashioned stuff…we put chains on every tire.”
  — Janno Lieber describing bus preparation [09:06]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 01:48–02:33 – MTA’s operational status amid the blizzard
• 02:51–03:34 – The impact of wind and drifting snow
• 03:45–04:40 – Shutdown and resumption approach for LIRR
• 04:59–05:44 – MTA workforce response
• 06:06 – Financial metrics for snowstorm costs
• 06:50 – Preparedness and climate change considerations
• 07:45 – Addressing bus stop accessibility after a blizzard
• 09:06 – How buses are prepared with chains and fleet adjustments

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Conclusion

Janno Lieber’s appearance on Bloomberg Talks provides an inside look at the MTA’s all-hands-on-deck philosophy for crisis management during severe winter storms. The episode underscores not only the operational challenges and innovations involved in running North America’s largest mass transit system, but also the dedication of its workforce and the role of adaptive strategies amid a changing climate. Lieber’s frankness, detailed explanations, and appreciation for frontline workers make this a practical and insightful listen for New Yorkers and transit watchers alike.

Transcript

[Host]

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[Producer/Announcer]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio National News I made a

[Interviewer/Reporter Paul Sweeney]

joke earlier to Paul Sweeney. How are you getting home on Tuesday? How do you get back to work? And I got silence. Paul, you know, you don't really know right now.

[Host]

I don't. I mean, New Jersey Transit will wait on that, but I suspect I'll be spending another evening in the metropolis.

[Interviewer/Reporter Paul Sweeney]

We will get an update now from a gentleman with experiences this with legit major storm experience. General Lieber joins us now with the mta. Jana, what's your biggest headache right now?

[Janno Lieber, MTA Chair]

Listen, we got service running. You know, the challenges are well known. We got to keep our snow fighting equipment. We got jet engines, snow blowers operating on the subways, literally clearing the tracks, especially in the outdoor areas. The challenge of, you know, buses moving around is the same as any vehicle. But we are meeting the challenge, Tom. Paul, we are. We're running full subway service, albeit on a little, you know, reduced frequencies. We got buses out there. Metro north is operating on a reduced schedule. The one piece of our system that is on suspension is the Long Island Railroad. It's no secret that Long island is getting hammered and that wasn't a safe place to operate. But otherwise, subways, buses, commuter rail operating,

[Interviewer/Reporter Paul Sweeney]

how does the wind play into it? I mean, I'm calling it a snow at Cane I get the temperature. Snow is snow. But like the wind and the various trucks that you have, I mean, underground, it doesn't affect it. But how do you adapt to the wind? GENERALIE Burke, the.

[Janno Lieber, MTA Chair]

The issue with wind mostly is actually the impact it has on drifting. What it, you know, when you have, for example, we have some areas of the subway system that are what we call an open cut. That's like a little valley, a depressed area below grade, but it's still open to the sky, and snow tends to accumulate and the wind pushes the snow into those areas. The drifting on the commuter railroads sometimes will cover the third rail, our source of power. So that is, and obviously for, for people who are driving buses and even trains, the visibility issues associated with wind, that wind is the dominant factor in determining when we can bring back Long Island Railroad service at the east end of our system.

[Host]

So what is the latest thinking, Jono, about the Long Island Railroad here? Because again, as you mentioned, and we've heard from the weather folks, that's really bearing the brunt of this storm.

[Janno Lieber, MTA Chair]

Yeah, well, we did an orderly shutdown last night at about 1am the goal is always to get everybody home. We did that last night with some extra service, late, late. And now we're going to be focused on orderly resumption of service, hopefully in time to operate tomorrow when the world will be getting a little bit back to normal. So that's the approach that we take. Safety first, you know, and taking account of where the snow accumulations and the drifting may have impacted on service. You know, one thing to bear in mind is in our big train yards, that's where we tend to get, you know, the biggest drifting issues. And, you know, sometimes that inhibits your ability to put cars into the system, into service. So we'll be digging out from in the yards and making sure that again, the third rail and, and that the, the tracks themselves are clear of snow.

[Interviewer/Reporter Paul Sweeney]

We continue with Jenna Lieber, MTA chair, quality time from his crisis center, Paul Sweeney with Jenna Lieber.

[Host]

Jenna, so all your personnel, the critical personnel of the mta, how do you manage getting those folks to where they need to be? Because, boy, they have to get there just like the rest of us.

[Janno Lieber, MTA Chair]

It's part of the deal when you sign up to work for the mta, that you may have to come in under extreme circumstances when the rest of the world is being told to stay home. Our workers are being told to come in, and they do. They worked through the night. They worked heavily. Yesterday we got 70,000 employees at the MTA thousands of them have been out. Many of them have slept in, you know, in bus garages or in rail. The rail control center, where our head of subway spent the night at the bus command center. It's part of the deal working for the mta. And I talked to Governor Hochul in the last. In the last hour or two, and. And she's really focused on. On, you know, tip of the hat to the. To the workforce generally.

[Interviewer/Reporter Paul Sweeney]

I love artificial intelligence. It can ruin your day. General, you got to help me here with the $1.8 million per inch myth. Now, this is a department of sanitation that every inch of snow costs $1.8 million. What's your every inch of blizzard that costs the MTA? Do you have a number? Even if you don't tell me. Do you have a number in your

[Janno Lieber, MTA Chair]

head, I'll tell you the absolute truth. I have no idea whatsoever. It's. You've given me a new metric. We use analytics here like crazy to evaluate how well we're doing, hopefully to operate more efficiently every day. You know, revenue. You know, cost per car mile, cost per revenue mile for subway and bus and commuter rail. You've given me a new metric to study, but right now, I have no idea what to say to you.

[Host]

John, this is the second big, big winter storm of the season. It's arguably one of the biggest storms we've had in decades in this area. How's your system kind of holding up? Does it. Is there a cumulative effect where, boy, we can't. We really don't want to have a third or fourth storm this season.

[Janno Lieber, MTA Chair]

Honestly, the challenge is, is, you know, the same every time, which is you have to get the snow off. You have to make sure you have enough people to operate fully. You have to chain all the buses. You have to move, you know, subway cars around and put them in the tunnel, store them in the tunnels. You know, it's not that we. Every storm makes it harder. To the contrary, you know, for better or worse, we're getting better at preparing for these because we've had repetitive storms, and we're going to continue to try to get better. In the era of climate change, we're dealing with all kinds of extreme weather events. You know, right now, we're forgetting about torrential rainfall and. And. And rising sea levels, but those are issues for the MTA as well.

[Interviewer/Reporter Paul Sweeney]

What does the morning look like? Let's say 4 or 5am Tuesday morning. Mr. Lieber, can you say back to normal?

[Janno Lieber, MTA Chair]

I don't know about normal, but listen, our friends at the department of sanitation are clearing not just the streets, but the bus stops. That's really important, something that I know the mayor wants to do better at compared to the, the first time around, so that our bus people who depend on buses will be able to get on and off them without having to climb, climb over a four foot mine of snow.

[Interviewer/Reporter Paul Sweeney]

Who should.

[Janno Lieber, MTA Chair]

That's important issue.

[Interviewer/Reporter Paul Sweeney]

That's brilliant. Who actually picks up a shovel and shovels a bus stop? Who is that person?

[Janno Lieber, MTA Chair]

It's a lot. It's, it's folks who work for the department of Sanitation. They're supplemented. This is city of New York as opposed to mta, but they're supplemented by parks department workers and they're actually hiring folks off the street for extra shovelers this time around. So I'm very hopeful that that particular challenge will be addressed. And we're, we're going to be clearing not just the tracks but also our yards, as I mentioned, which is where trains tend to get stuck. And there are, you know, a lot of complex switches that can inhibit things if they're not properly in order.

[Interviewer/Reporter Paul Sweeney]

One more question, Paul. You were, you were impressed by the buses.

[Host]

Yeah. Just walking to work this morning. I saw some of the buses here. Talk to us about the buses because, boy, I haven't seen too many snow plows out yet because the storm is still raging here. How did the buses adapt here?

[Janno Lieber, MTA Chair]

It's, it's old fashioned stuff, Paul. It's, we put chains on every, on the tires of every bus. And that, that, that gets done in the days leading up to, to the storm when we know it's coming. You know, forecasting is getting better and better. We chain the entire fleet and we take all the articulated buses which are, you know, tend to move around a little more in slippery conditions. We take them out of service and we make plans accordingly.

[Interviewer/Reporter Paul Sweeney]

Jenna, thank you so much for taking precious time this morning. This is the MTA of New York City as they deal with the storm, as I'm sure we're seeing in Philadelphia and Boston.

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