NYC public transit is on track for a record year of public transit ridership and performance, Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Monday.
NYC Transit Subways and Buses, Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad hit ridership and on-time performance records in the first of 2025, Hochul reported on July 14. The governor and MTA officials credit the milestones in part to increased service across the MTA network.
“MTA ridership, performance and safety are all improving dramatically in 2025, serving nearly six million New Yorkers every day and keeping New York moving,” Hochul said. “Thanks to the investments we’re making in safer, more reliable and more frequent service, riders are benefitting every day. When transit is thriving, New York is thriving.”
Since 2023, the MTA has increased service across the transit system. Weekend and off-peak weekday service was increased on 12 subway lines, reducing wait times for millions of customers over the previous two years, the agency reported.
Officials said Grand Central Madison opened in 2023, propelling a 41% jump in service on LIRR. They added that bus service has improved across the city. According to MTA officials, bus service was increased on eight express and 15 local routes with high ridership earlier this year, following the launch of congestion pricing on Jan. 5.
“The new MTA is a business-like organization that delivers for customers, and the proof is in the data – soaring ridership, historic levels of on-time performance and major improvements in customer satisfaction,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said.
Weekday subway on-time performance in the first six months of 2025 was 83.7%, 2.4 percentage points higher than the same time last year and on track for the “best non-pandemic year in recorded history.”
Weekday subway delays are down 11% in 2025 compared to 2024, while weekend delays were down 14%. Bus service delivery was above 95% each month of 2025, and bus speeds have improved over the first half of the year, which officials credit to reduced gridlock following the start of congestion pricing on Jan. 5.
In June, NYC Transit surpassed 106 million rides, up 10% from 2024. Subway ridership this year is up 8% compared to 2024 and 31% compared to 2022. Combined, buses and subways have carried over 850 million customers in the first half of 2025.
Year-to-date ridership on LIRR is up 9% compared to 2024 and up 64% from 2022; year-to-date Metro-North ridership is up 6% compared to 2024 and up 63% compared to 2022.
In June, paratransit served 1.3 million riders on 904,000 completed trips, officials said, both above previous pre-Covid peaks.
