NY Gov. Hochul Announces Record 7-Day Subway Ridership

Governor Kathy Hochul announced Sept. 16 that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) set a new post-pandemic subway ridership record, setting a new 7-day high of 26.8 million riders traveling between Monday, Sept. 8 and Sunday, Sept. 14. Additionally, the subway recorded more than 4 million riders every weekday – a first since the COVID-19 pandemic. New York City Transit recorded 4.1 million riders on the subway on Monday; 4.44 million on Tuesday; 4.48 million on Wednesday; 4.51 million on Thursday; and 4.2 million riders on Friday. This ridership milestone underscores customer confidence in public transit as the best way to get around the region as the MTA continues to deliver the best service in over a decade, with record on-time performance and enhanced reliability.

“The subway is New York City’s lifeblood, and when ridership is growing, it means even more New Yorkers are going to work, to school, to shop, and to take advantage of everything this city has to offer,” Governor Hochul said. “We’ve made real progress in the subway system delivering more service with increased reliability and by improving safety and reducing crime. This is what New Yorkers expect and deserve: a safe and reliable ride. By continuing to improve what matters to riders, I look forward to even more record weeks to come.”

Growing ridership comes on the heels of strong performance and improving safety. Subway weekday on-time performance in August was 85.2%, matching the previous high set in May of this year. It was also the best August in 10 years. The subway had a historically safe August, with transit crime down 22.8% from August of 2024. Last month was the safest August in the subway system in recorded history.