The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that the New York City Subway carried 2,469,037 customers yesterday, the highest number since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020. The milestone extending a string of previous records set within recent weeks: 2.38 million riders on June 9, 2.35 million riders on May 27, 2.27 million on May 14, and 2.24 million on May 7.  

“As the subway comes back, New York City comes back - and with noticeably more people out and about our ridership continues to trend towards its full recovery,” said Demetrius Crichlow, Executive Vice President of Subways for MTA New York City Transit. “We hope to keep this momentum going and hit that 2.5 million mark soon.” 

The MTA has undertaken unprecedented cleaning and disinfecting protocols in the year since the pandemic began to ensure that the system is as safe as possible for its customers. The Authority has also rolled out robust public education campaigns and issued millions of masks to its customers. The MTA is hosting public vaccination hubs at Grand Central and Penn Station.  
  
Prior to the pandemic, average weekday ridership totals routinely exceeded 5.5 million in the subway system. That figure fell by more than 90% to a low of roughly 300,000 daily trips last April as the number of COVID-19 cases peaked in the New York City area. MTA employees continued to provide service for the frontline healthcare professionals and other essential workers who needed to get to work during some of the most difficult days in New York City history.