PATH logs record rail ridership for October

The Port Authority-Trans Hudson (PATH) commuter railroad posted a record post-pandemic ridership of 5.7 million passengers in October, breaking the former record set in September by 11%.

Year over year, PATH's October ridership climbed 18% and reached 75% of October 2019 passenger total, according to a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey press release. The railroad also reported its highest average weekday ridership since the onset of the pandemic, serving 211,525 riders on an average October 2024 weekday.

October's record is a 2.4% increase from the previous post-pandemic high set in September 2024 and is an increase of 14% over October 2023. October 2024’s average weekday ridership also reached 71% of October 2019’s average weekday ridership.

Following a nationwide trend of increasing weekend ridership on public transit, PATH attracted 7% more riders on Saturdays and a 22% more riders on Sundays in October compared to a year ago.

During the first 10 months of 2024, PATH served 47.6 million passengers, a 14% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

Meanwhile, the PANYNJ handled 704,367 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in October, a 5% decrease compared to October 2023's level. and a 10% decrease from September 2024's level. Those decreases reflected shippers' strategy to move as much cargo as possible earlier in the year ahead of potential labor actions.