The trains are back on track!
NYC Subway ridership sees another post-pandemic ridership high
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
The slow yet steady recovery
of the New York City subway
system continued last
week with three straight days
of record-level pandemic ridership,
the MTA announced
Tuesday.
Approximately 2.57 million
riders ventured into the
subways on Friday, June 18
— or roughly 46 percent of the
5.5 million riders that the subways
averaged pre-pandemic
in February 2020.
The MTA also reported
pandemic record-levels of
commuters on June 18 for
buses in New York City as
well as the Metro-North and
Long Island Rail Roads. Ridership
on Metro-North exceeded
100,000 commuters on
June 18 for the fi rst time during
the pandemic.
The combined subway and
bus ridership exceeded 3.7
million, close to half of the
pre-pandemic average.
“The subway’s ridership
return continues to gather
momentum,” said interim
MTA New York City Transit
President Sarah Feinberg.
“The subway is essential to
New York, and higher ridership
COURIER L 22 IFE, JUNE 25-JULY 1, 2021
is the surest sign of New
York’s post-pandemic recovery.”
For more than a year, the
MTA had been dealing with
recovering from a sharp decline
in ridership as the
COVID-19 pandemic took
hold of New York City last
year. The subways emptied
in March and April 2020 as
businesses closed and workers
were sent home due to
the contagion; at one point,
ridership had fallen by more
than 90 percent, with roughly
300,000 daily trips made at the
height of the crisis.
The MTA kept the subway
system running nonetheless,
with select changes made,
just to keep essential workers
moving and the city running.
As the fi rst wave of the
pandemic ended, in May 2020,
the MTA closed service overnight
for the fi rst time in its
history to permit all cars and
stations to be disinfected; this
program continued through
May of this year, when 24/7
service was fi nally restored.
But as the vaccine got into
arms and the city began reopening,
another issue surfaced:
a rash of crime in the
depleted system. The MTA
has clashed with the city over
public safety issues on the
stations, and Mayor Bill de
Blasio recently announced a
surge of NYPD offi cers into
the system to add an extra
level of security.
New York City Transit’s efforts
to keep the subways safe
and clean continue, according
to Demetrius Crichlow,
executive vice president of
subways.
“Our dedicated employees
are working hard to provide
the cleanest, safest and most
reliable service possible,”
Crichlow said. “As traffi c congestion
returns to the streets
and the temperatures rise,
riders will appreciate the
speed and comfort of travel
on the subway now as much
as ever.”
While the subway recovery
continues, the MTA is
apparently not wanting for
traffic on its bridges and
tunnels — which also set
pandemic records for volume
on June 17-18 with 973,485
and 989,296 vehicles, respectively.
The June 18 figure is
equal to about 96.4 percent
of the pre-pandemic levels of
traffic on MTA crossings.
A subway conductor wears a protective face mask during the COVID-19
outbreak. REUTERS/Mike Segar
WE REPAIR & BUILD COMPUTERS
Austin Air Purifiers • Air Conditioners
WITH COUPON ONLY. EXP. JULY 31 2021
WE ARE OPEN MONDAY - SATURDAY
36
7717 3RD AVE. • 718-989-8952
GREENHOUSECAFE.COM
ESTABLISHED 1981
BAR RESTAURANT CAFE
7721Third Ave
718-635-4076
5 Private
Party Rooms
Available
Small Boutique Weddings
Bridal & Baby Showers
Christenings, Birthdays,
Communions,
Anniversaries
Appetizer, Entree,
$39+tax & tip
Lunch Monday
to Friday 12-4pm
Brunch Saturday
& Sunday 11am-3pm
Complete Dinner
Served 7 days
All Menus at Greenhousecafe.com
718-989-8952
Open
7 Days
Pick Up &
Delivery
Outdoor
Dining
Indoor
Dining
/GREENHOUSECAFE.COM
/Greenhousecafe.com