Mass Transit in New York City - Ridership

Ridership

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) operates most of New York City's transit systems. Using census data, the MTA reported in August 2006 that ridership on its buses, subways and commuter trains in recent years has grown faster than population growth, indicating that more New Yorkers are choosing to use mass transit. The MTA attributed the ridership gains to the introduction of the MetroCard in 1993, and the replacement of more than 2,800 subway and train cars since 2000.

From 1995 to 2005, the authority said, ridership on city buses and subways grew by 36%, compared with a population gain in the city of 7%. In the suburbs, it said, a 14% increase in ridership on Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road outpaced a suburban population gain of 6%. With dramatic increases in fuel prices in 2008, as well as increased tourism and residential growth, ridership on New York buses and subways grew 3.1% up to a 2.37 billion trips a year compared to 2007. This is the highest since 1965.