Subway Ridership on a Post-Omicron Rebound in New York City

Checking in with the New York transit system amid a period of relative recovery.

1 minute read

February 20, 2022, 5:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


New York City Subway

Kits Pix / Shutterstock

Kevin Duggan reports on the resurgence of transit ridership in New York City: "More than 3 million people rode the New York City subway each day for three consecutive days last week, the first time the MTA recorded such high numbers since the outbreak of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in December."

Duggan notes that the high number of riders is still far less than pre-pandemic levels in the Big Apple (55 percent of pre-pandemic levels to be exact) and still far below pre-Omicron levels (ridership had climbed to 74.3% of 2019 figures on November 21, 2021.

Pre-pandemic ridership totaled around 5.5 million a day. On December 9, 2021, the system had 3.44 million riders—a pandemic record.

The source article, linked below, also includes specific data for bus ridership and car traffic. On the latter, Duggan reports: "Car traffic rates compared to pre-pandemic quickly rebounded to almost 99% of pre-COVID levels at MTA’s seven bridges and two tunnels in the most recent days, and dipped below 70% only twice during Omicron, in both cases coinciding with snowstorms on Jan. 7 and Jan. 29."

Whether transit ridership will ever rebound to pre-pandemic levels (to be fair, transit ridership was already declining in most U.S. cities prior to the pandemic) is very much still in doubt.

Sunday, February 13, 2022 in AMNY

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Red SF Muni ticketing machine.

San Francisco Muni Raises Fares a Second Time

A 10–cent fare hike for adults is part of the agency’s plan to chip away at a growing budget deficit.

6 hours ago - San Francisco Examiner

Electric car charging station with several Chevy Bolts charging in parking lot of store in Bellingham, Washington

Electric Grid Capacity Could Hamstring EV Growth

Industry leaders say the U.S. electric grid is unprepared for the increased demand for power created by electric cars, data centers, and electric homes.

7 hours ago - GovTech

Top view new development riverside residential and commercial neighborhood with vacant land in Texas, USA.

Texas Bill Supports Adaptive Reuse in Commercial Areas

Senate Bill 840, which was preliminarily approved by the state House, would allow residential construction in areas previously zoned for offices and commercial uses.

May 21 - The Texas Tribune