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New York City’s population is once again growing after residents left in droves during the pandemic. The city keeps setting records for total jobs. And 65 million visitors came to the five boroughs last year — the second-most ever.
So why are riders still not returning to the subways at levels seen before COVID-19? Habits and ways of life adopted during the pandemic are at least part of the reason.
During the first three weeks of March 2020, the system’s daily ridership plummeted from more than 5.5 million daily riders to fewer than 500,000. Service was slashed as thousands of transit workers were sickened by the virus. By Memorial Day, more than 100 MTA employees had died from COVID. During the course of the pandemic, 177 MTA workers were killed by the virus, according to the agency’s data. The decimation of subway ridership cost the MTA barrels of cash from fares, prompting Congress to sign off on a combined $15 billion in relief for the agency in 2020 and 2021.
Life in the city has largely recovered since then. Broadway is booming, and the number of drivers using the city’s bridges and tunnels is back to pre-pandemic levels.
But subway ridership, which has long served as a barometer for New York’s economic health, remains stubbornly low. Weekday ridership still hovers around 4 million, about 30% less than its pre-pandemic peak. That’s had a troubling impact on the MTA’s bottom line. The agency brought in $3.5 billion from subway fares in 2019. That figure now sits at $2.8 billion, despite a fare hike. (The difference is about the same as what the MTA estimates it loses to fare evasion every year, a trend that the agency says skyrocketed during the pandemic).
The stagnant ridership rebound was forecast by a consultant report commissioned by the MTA in 2022. We’re currently in line with a low-end scenario in the report, which projected overall ridership would stall if office workers only worked in person two days per week and commuters grew used to avoiding the subway.
There are other possible reasons why riders might still be wary to return to the subways, including a series of high-profile unprovoked attacks. The rate of felony assaults in the system reached a 27-year high in 2023, though NYPD data shows major crime rates in transit are now trending lower.
The MTA has historically relied on transit fares to balance its books — and riders could become an even more essential source of income as the Trump administration threatens to cut off funding for the agency, whether by killing congestion pricing or punishing the MTA for an alleged lack of safety.
For his part, MTA Chair Janno Lieber said the best way to coax riders back into the system is to make sure its underlying infrastructure doesn’t fall into shambles. As we reported in a series of stories earlier this year, that’s perilously close to happening.
“The economics of mass transit in New York are always back and forth, but we’re in solid shape,” Lieber said during an appearance on “The Chris Hayes Podcast” this week. “The big issue for us now going forward … is the capital program, because we got to rebuild this 100-year-old system that has been frankly neglected for a lot of that century.”
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Cassius, from Brooklyn
The windows of G trains say ‘Culver Local.’ What the heck does this mean? There’s no stop on the G called Culver, no neighborhood in New York City with such a name. What’s up with this?
Answer
The southern stretches of the G and F lines are referred to as the Culver Line, a reference to Andrew Culver, who was the head of the Prospect Park and Coney Island Railroad in the 19th century. The line opened in 1875 as an above-ground steam railroad that ran along McDonald Avenue from Green-Wood Cemetery down to Coney Island. New York Transit Museum curator Jodi Shapiro explained the line was converted to streetcars in the late 1800s. Other elevated tracks were built in the first half of the 20th century and incorporated into today’s subway system. When you see that Culver designation on the F or the G, it’s a nod to a railroad pioneer who made your commute possible.
The latest NYC area transit headlines
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The slow death of the MetroCard. The MTA said this week that it plans to stop selling them by the end of 2025. Riders will still be able to use their existing MetroCards through the end of 2026. After that, OMNY will be the only option.
After 32 years, it’s time to say goodbye to the MetroCard and go all in on the fare payment system of the future.
Trump to MTA: Create a subway safety plan or risk losing funds. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a letter he’s giving the MTA until March 31 to come up with a plan to reduce transit crime, including assaults, fare evasion and subway surfing.
Slow down. The city’s transportation department plans to soon lower speed limits to 20 mph in four neighborhoods: Dumbo, Brooklyn; Broad Channel, Queens; St. George, Staten Island; and across all of City Island in the Bronx.
Justice for cab drivers. As part of a $140 million settlement, the city will give back pay to thousands of drivers whose licenses were unfairly revoked after they were arrested but never convicted of crimes.
Obscure your license plate, face a $50 fine. Starting April 16, the city will impose its own obscured license plate penalty on top of state fines, which can range from $100 to $500 for the same violation.
Getting mopeds out of the bike lanes. The city’s transportation department wants to officially allow mopeds in the roadways on the Brooklyn Bridge and the lower level of the Queensboro Bridge so they’re not mixing with (and potentially hitting) cyclists.
Does anyone like the leaning bars? The West Fourth Street station replaced its benches with bars you can theoretically lean on. PIX11 did not appear to find any riders who approved.
“S— look like a fallout shelter.” @Tyreaktoldyou has a pretty thorough review of the Chambers Street J/Z station.
Listen to us talk about all this! Download our app and tune in to “All Things Considered” around 4 p.m. today. And catch up on last week’s segment in case you missed it.
