NEW YORK (AP)  -- Students late for school and workers late for their jobs because of New York City subway delays can get notes from the transit agency to give to their teachers and bosses.

The New York City Transit division says it gives passengers the notes so they can prove they're not lying about being delayed while riding the subway.

Passengers request the delay verification letters over the phone.

NYC Transit verifies the date and time of the delay and sends an official note in the mail in one or two weeks. It mails out 34,000 notes a year. It's working on an online system so it can take requests on the Internet and e-mail the excuse letters.

Each letter shows the subway line taken and the durations of the trip and the delay.