(WNY News Now) – Governor Hochul Celebrates Record Ridership, Rebounding Faster Than Pre-Pandemic Levels.
Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority hit one billion trips on the New York City subway in 2024. The billionth customer was identified as Sir Michael Carrasquillo from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn who tapped into the subway system at Atlantic Av–Barclays Ctr 2 3 4 5 B D N R Q Station at 1:45 p.m. Mr. Carrasquillo received four weeks of unlimited rides on an OMNY card, and an OMNY hat and T-shirt. This milestone follows the busiest Sunday since the pandemic with the subway carrying 2.6 million riders during the New York City Marathon and comes nearly two months earlier than in 2022. October was the busiest October for New York City Transit since the pandemic, with nearly 114 million subway rides and over 40 million bus rides, 10 million more subway rides and 3 million more bus rides than the previous year.
“There’s no better way to get around New York City than taking the subway, and we’re proud to be setting post-pandemic ridership records while investing in major new initiatives that will modernize our transit system,” Governor Hochul said. “We’ve also doubled down on our commitment to making mass transit safer, ensuring that every New Yorker experiences the standard of safety and service they deserve.”
Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) also experienced record-breaking Octobers. Metro-North had an average of 230,400 weekday trips and LIRR had an average of 261,900 weekday trips, representing a post-pandemic record. Both railroads exceeded pre-pandemic weekend ridership. LIRR averaged nearly 135,000 trips per day on weekends, equaling 132 percent of Oct. 2019 weekend ridership. Metro-North averaged nearly 132,000 trips per weekend day, equaling 102 percent of Oct. 2019 weekend ridership.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “The MTA is proud to be the engine that moves and powers New York and we’re welcoming riders back in record numbers. Credit to Governor Hochul and the NY Legislature for stepping up and allowing us to increase service when the rest of the country was making cuts and, here we are, billions of rides later.”
MTA Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara said, “It’s great to see ridership rebound with leisure hours during the weekends booming and students are loving their OMNY cards with 20 million taps across the system. None of these records would be possible without great employees who work day-in and day-out to move customers throughout the system.”
New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said, “Achieving ridership records at a quicker pace shows us that customers are relying on the subway to get where they need to go. NYCT will continue working to deliver reliable, fast and safe service, and I look forward to delivering on that goal for billions more trips.”
Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi said, “There’s nothing like fall in the Hudson Valley, and it’s wonderful to see so many riders taking advantage of Metro-North’s great service to see the changing leaves or heading out to Yankee Stadium. As we move into the holiday season, Metro-North service is the best way to beat traffic and enjoy the iconic Grand Central Terminal and other holiday attractions throughout the region.”
Long Island Rail Road President Rob Free said, “We’re providing historic levels of service, record on-time performance, and increased reliability thanks to investments like Grand Central Madison and Main Line Third Track and customers are responding in record numbers. I look forward to continuing to build on October’s success and finish the year even stronger.”
OMNY’s market share continues to grow with 82 percent of Regular Fare subway rides taken by tapping with OMNY. With Reduced-Fare customers now eligible for OMNY, last week 60 percent of all subway trips were taken via OMNY, an increase of 16 percent over the same week in 2023. And since receiving Student OMNY cards with expanded benefits at the start of the school year, students have tapped over 20 million times.
To ensure subway customers were able to travel to and from the race smoothly and safely, NYCT did not schedule any non-essential work along lines that were anticipated to carry significant numbers of runners and race viewers. Platform controllers were deployed at stations surrounding the finishing area and other high priority viewing points, such as Queensboro Plaza 7 N W and Lexington Av/59 St 4 5 6 N R W. In order to prevent overcrowding on stairways and platforms at subway stations, some stairways were designated as “entrance or exit only.”
Knowing that the subway is the fastest way to get around on Marathon Sunday, the Detroit Pistons took the train to Barclays Center for an afternoon NBA match up with the Brooklyn Nets.