NYC subway ridership tops 3 million for first time in months

MTA New York City Transit's (NYCT) subway ridership recently topped 3 million for three consecutive days, the first time the transit system surpassed that ridership mark since Dec. 17, 2021, when the omicron variant of the COVID-19 pandemic was reported in the city.

The subway carried 3,015,755 riders on Feb. 8; 3,087,731 riders on Feb. 9; and 3,108,216 riders on Feb. 10. Weekly ridership now has reached 55% of pre-pandemic levels, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials said in a press release. The latest ridership figure is a 54% increase since the weekday low of 2,011,675 on Dec. 27. Pre-pandemic levels averaged about 5.5 million riders each weekday on the subway system.

"We've come flying back from the omicron surge as New Yorkers are ready to ride the subway to their destination,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “New Yorkers are ... coming back to mass transit, and now they are going to take advantage of some really attractive new fare promotions."

MTA recently announced a series of new fare pilot programs designed to entice riders back to the system, including a weekly fare cap of $33 through the OMNY contactless payment system.