MTA Poised to Break Ridership, On-Time Service Records

All of New York City’s public transit systems are poised to break ridership records in 2025, with the first half of the year showing strong growth in ridership, on-time service, and customer satisfaction.

The city’s buses and subways carried more than 850 million riders in the first half of the year. As Aaron Ginsburg explains in 6sqft, the MTA’s subways saw a 11 percent decrease in weekday delays, and bus service delivery was above 95 percent every month. Subway ridership rose by 8 percent compared to last year and 22 percent compared to 2022. “More The Long Island Railroad (LIRR), meanwhile , set a new June non-pandemic on-time performance record at 95.9 percent, and ridership on the line is up 64 percent compared to 2022. New Yorkers are riding the bus as well, with ridership up 12 percent compared to 2024.” 

The system’s paratransit services also saw a rise in ridership and a 92 percent on-time performance rate in June.

According to Ginsburg, “The MTA credits improved bus service to upgrades made earlier this year, which increased service on eight express and 15 local high-ridership routes. Further gains are expected from the Queens Bus Network Redesign, the system’s most significant overhaul in 70 years, which has revamped all but three of the borough’s bus routes to boost transit equity, speed commutes, and enhance service for roughly 800,000 daily riders.”