The New York City subway carried 4.56 million passengers on Thursday. transit officials said.
“The busiest day on the subway since COVID hit,” MTA Chairman Janno Lieber told reporters Friday.
“It’s a big day when we break these new records,” Lieber said. “Getting people back on transit has been a lifelong mission because we knew how much it was about the revitalization of New York City.”
Thursday's figures show the subway is nearly back to pre-lockdown ridership levels: The last time subway ridership was higher was March 1, 2020, when the seven-day average was 4.57 million passengers per day.
“Given the significant progress we have made in safety and reliability this year, it is no surprise that we broke another subway ridership record,” Gov. Hochul said in a statement.
But ridership still lags behind 2019 levels, when the rails often carried more than 5 million passengers a day.
Ridership plummeted during the first COVID outbreak as New Yorkers sheltered in their homes and the MTA ended 24-hour subway service to facilitate cleaning.
24-hour metro service resumed in May 2021, but initially the agency fought restore pre-COVID ridership as many New Yorkers continued to work remotely.
Passenger traffic figures were Recently there has been an upward trendHowever, the system makes its billionth annual trip earlier than each subsequent year.
Billionaire Racer 2025 – young Brooklynite on his way to the Rockaways surfing during the nor'easter – noted last week.
