MTA subway ridership hits highest single day total since start of pandemic

A total of 1,863,962 paid trips occurred on New York City Transit March 11, the most subway trips recorded since the start of the pandemic last March.

The increase in ridership comes on the heels of news that the recently passed federal stimulus package includes some $6 billion in Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) funding. That money will help allow transit workers to continue providing quality service as more customers return to mass transit in the weeks and months ahead. Approximately 1.13 million additional daily trips were recorded on MTA/NYCT buses, taking the total number of daily trips systemwide to just under three million for the day.

"We are thrilled to see so many New Yorkers returning to the system after the most challenging year in New York City Transit history," said Interim New York City Transit President Sarah Feinberg. "Make no mistake: we still have a long way to go, but the progress we've made in bringing riders back is significant. We will continue to do everything in our power to get New Yorkers to vaccination sites and we are hopeful that more and more of our customers will return to the system in the weeks and months to come."

Prior to the pandemic, average weekday ridership totals routinely exceeded five million in the subway system. That figure fell by more than 90 percent to a low of roughly 300,000 daily trips last April as the number of COVID-19 cases reached their apex in the New York City area. Daily bus trips at that time were down close to 75 percent from pre-pandemic figures and fell to approximately 600,000. Despite the immense reduction in daily ridership, New York City Transit workers continued to provide service for the frontline healthcare professionals and other essential workers who needed to get to work during some of the bleakest days in New York City history.