PATH set ridership records in September

Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) commuter-rail ridership set a number of post-pandemic records in September.

PATH transported 5.12 million passengers in September, the railroad's busiest month since February 2020. PATH also marked a new high for average weekday riders: In September, 200,000 passengers rode the system for the first time since before the pandemic.

As ridership grows closer to pre-pandemic levels, PATH is updating its schedule to better accommodate the growing numbers of passengers, PATH officials said in a press release.

On Oct. 14, PATH expanded capacity on its Newark-World Trade Center Line. Nine-car trains are now in place on all trains that PATH operates on the line, increasing the train’s passenger capacity by 12.5%. Wait times for trains running during morning peak hours on the Journal Square-33 Street Line has also decreased by one minute.

Year-to-date, PATH has served 42 million passengers, a 13% increase compared to ridership during the same period in 2023. September 2024’s monthly total ridership represented 74% of September 2019’s ridership. Average Saturday ridership during the month surpassed average September 2019 ridership by about 2%, at 117,930 riders, while September 2024’s average Sunday ridership of 87,805 is just 3% below September 2019. Both metrics were about 25% higher than September 2023’s averages, PATH officials said.

PATH has also seen a steady rise in the number of customers using the new tap-to-pay fare option available at all PATH stations. TAPP, short for Total Access PATH Payment, accounts for more than 55% of all weekday rides and nearly 70% on weekends. The ridership increases come as Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) advances its two-year $430 million PATH Forward program, which aims to upgrade the 116-year-old PATH system with track repair and replacement, modernization of bridges, rail cars and other infrastructure. Additionally, the program calls for rehabilitating four major stations: Hoboken, Grove Street, Newport and Exchange Place.

Meanwhile, PANYNJ reported last week that August was also a strong month for the ports’ freight movement, with a nearly 19.3% rise in total volume from the previous year. A total of 790,891 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) moved through the port in August, compared to 662,740 TEUs in August 2023, according to a PANYNJ press release.

This increase brought the port’s total year-through-August volume to 5,807,559 TEUs. It also marks the sixth consecutive month during which the port surpassed 700,000 TEUs handled, according to a press release from the PANYNJ. Rail volume was 57,053 containers, a 1% increase from August rail volume in 2023. Year-to-day through August, rail volume climbed 4% from the same period last year.