New York Subway Reaches One Billion Ride Milestone

The New York City subway system hit one billion rides for the year, a good sign for a public transit system in an era when ridership continues to lag after pandemic-related disruptions.

According to an article by Ben Brachfeld in the Bronx Times, “September was the first month since the pandemic when average weekday ridership on the subway was over 4 million, a feat which was repeated in October.”

The MTA selected one passenger, Michael Carrasquillo, as the symbolic “billionth rider,” awarding him a month of free rides.

Brachfeld notes that “The subway has still not fully recovered from the pandemic days, when ridership plummeted as New Yorkers were told to stay home and stop the spread of the coronavirus. The MTA has blamed this on the normalization of working from home, even as auto traffic over MTA bridges and tunnels regularly exceeds pre-pandemic figures.”