The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that subway ridership surpassed the 3 million mark on Tuesday February 8, carrying 3,004,655 customers. Staten Island Railway carried 6,247 customers for a combined total of 3,010,902. This marks the first time that subways have carried over 3 million riders since the Omicron wave hit New York City on Dec. 17, 2021. The ridership rebound comes after subway ridership hit a weekday Omicron low of 2,011,675 on Dec. 27, 2021. Since then, mask compliance has improved to 95% on subways and ridership has trended back up.
“Let this ridership record be a clear signal – New York is coming out of the Omicron surge and we have numbers to prove it,” Governor Hochul said. “On behalf of all New Yorkers, I say thank you to our transit workers who helped us get through yet another wave of the pandemic by putting themselves on the frontline so the rest of us could travel safely.”
To further encourage ridership, the MTA announced a series of new fare pilot programs that makes fares more affordable, more flexible and more fair, including a cap on weekly fares through the Authority's contactless payment system, OMNY, with the “Lucky 13” feature. Starting with the 13th ride of each week every additional ride on subways or buses is free for the rest of that week.
“We've come flying back from the Omicron surge. New Yorkers are ready to ride,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “The principle demonstration of that is that the level of ridership during the off-peak times have always been pretty high. New Yorkers are coming out of Omicron, they're coming back to transit and now they are going to have the benefit of some really attractive new fare promotions."
“We’re thrilled to be welcoming back our customers,” said MTA Chief Customer Officer Sarah Meyer. “We will continue to make the system as fast and reliable as possible with advancements like OMNY, new elevators and new signals.”
The MTA has undertaken unprecedented cleaning and disinfecting protocols in the year since the pandemic began in 2020 to ensure that the system is as safe as possible for its customers. The Authority has also rolled out public education campaigns and issued millions of masks to its customers.
Prior to the pandemic, average weekday ridership totals routinely exceeded 5.5 million in the subway system. That figure fell by 95 percent to a low of roughly 300,000 daily trips in April 2020 as the number of COVID-19 cases peaked in the New York City area. MTA employees continued to provide service for the frontline healthcare professionals and other essential workers who needed to get to work during some of the most difficult days in New York City history.