New York City’s subway system surpassed 26 million riders in a single week, setting a new post-pandemic record, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday. Between September 8 and 14, the system recorded 26.8 million trips, the highest weekly total since the pandemic. The subway also carried more than four million riders every weekday, another post-pandemic first.
During the seven-day period, NYC Transit recorded 4.1 million subway riders on Monday, 4.44 million on Tuesday, 4.48 million on Wednesday, 4.51 million on Thursday, and 4.2 million on Friday. The MTA first surpassed four million riders in a single day post-pandemic on Wednesday, June 25.
Above ground, the city’s bus network also saw record highs, with 9.3 million rides during the week—its third-highest total since the pandemic and a 2.7 percent increase compared to 2024. The record week remains September 12, 2022, when buses carried about 100,000 more riders.
It was also a strong week for the commuter railroads. Metro-North averaged 237,994 riders during the workweek, its highest five-day total since March 2020. The Long Island Rail Road recorded its second-highest post-pandemic week, averaging 277,435 riders, just behind its August 25 peak of 288,459.
Access-A-Ride paratransit services are also seeing steady ridership growth, reaching their highest monthly total ever in August and setting a new single-day record of 46,875 scheduled trips on September 10.
Paratransit is leading the MTA’s post-pandemic ridership comeback, with 2025 ridership at 140 percent of its pre-pandemic peak. Access-A-Ride now handles more than 40,000 scheduled weekday trips—comparable to the size of entire bus networks in cities like Charlotte, Cincinnati, and Kansas City.
In a press release, Hochul called the subway the “lifeblood” of the five boroughs and celebrated the growing ridership.
“The subway is New York City’s lifeblood, and when ridership is growing, it means even more New Yorkers are going to work, to school, to shop, and to take advantage of everything this city has to offer,” Hochul said.
She continued: “We’ve made real progress in the subway system, delivering more service with increased reliability and by improving safety and reducing crime. This is what New Yorkers expect and deserve: a safe and reliable ride. By continuing to improve what matters to riders, I look forward to even more record weeks to come.”
The numbers suggest the MTA is on track to achieve its projected record-breaking year for ridership and on-time performance, first outlined by the agency in July. So far in 2025, on-time service improved across NYC Transit, the LIRR, and Metro-North.
Customer satisfaction has also increased across all three agencies, while major crimes in the subway system have dropped 3.2 percent compared to the same period last year, and nearly 10 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, as 6sqft previously reported.
“With a new and improved bus network in Queens and historic subway on-time performance and Paratransit ridership in August, it’s no surprise we’re already breaking records in September,” NYC Transit Demetrius Crichlow said. “NYC Transit will continue to deliver safe, reliable, and fast service and I look forward to bringing this incredible momentum into the fall.”
However, despite the positive data, the subway system still struggles with aging cars and equipment, according to a report released last week by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Of the 2.7 million scheduled subway trips in 2024, 486,614 ran late, with infrastructure and equipment failures accounting for 31 percent of delays—up from 24 percent in 2023.
The report also found that more than a quarter of subway cars have exceeded their 40-year lifespan, and major service disruptions tied to car issues nearly tripled in the first six months of 2025, rising from 27 to 77.
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