NYC subway carried 1 billion riders in 2022, setting a pandemic-era record

The COVID-19 pandemic left the New York City subway without most of its passengers. For the past two years, the city’s transit system has been slowly recovering and recently hit a major pandemic-era milestone. The NYC subway carried more than one billion customers in 2022, the most since 2019, according to data from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). 

In 2022, more people hopped on the train in New York City than a year before. The city's subway system carried 760 million passengers in 2021 and 640 million in 2020. The NYC subway system set the pandemic-era record four days before the end of the year. The one billionth rider, Sasha Salazar, swiped her MetroCard at the 161st Street-Yankee Stadium station on December 27, 2022. 

"We have been working hard to bring customers back by providing safer, cleaner, and faster service, and hitting one billion riders in 2022 is evidence that our work is paying off," Governor Hochul said. "New Yorkers and tourists alike continue to flock to the subway, proving there is no better way to get around New York City than mass transit."

Although NYC subway ridership has increased in the last year, it has not reached pre-pandemic levels. Between 2016 and 2019, the annual subway ridership averaged more than 1.7 billion, according to MTA statistics. In addition, the rise in remote work also had an impact on the transit system recovery. 

As most New Yorkers continue to follow the hybrid schedule, the subway ridership levels fluctuate throughout the week. The MTA findings suggest that fewer passengers take the subway on Mondays and Fridays – the two most popular work-from-home days. Weekend ridership, on the other hand, has recovered much faster, reaching about 77 percent of pre-pandemic levels. 

"In 2022, customers have voted with their MetroCard swipes and OMNY taps, and hundreds of millions have returned to the subway,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “Hitting this milestone, one billion subway riders in 2022, demonstrates again how essential mass transit is to New York City's economy and continued recovery from the pandemic."

Resources:

“ICYMI: Governor Hochul Announces One Billionth New York City Subway Rider of 2022,” by New York City Transit (MTA, 2022)

“NYC subway surpasses 1 billion riders for the first time since 2019,” by Devin Gannon (6sqft, 2022)

“MTA surpasses 1 billion subway riders in 2022, a first in COVID era,” by Ben Brachfeld (amNY, 2022)