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Subway Ridership Is at Its Highest Since 1948

Rush Hour On New York's Subway
Weekday ridership on the subway went up last year to a daily average of 5.7 million. Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

If it feels like there are more people than ever on your daily subway commute, it’s because there are: The MTA said Monday that ridership last year was at its highest since 1948. There were 1.763 billion subway rides in 2015, up 0.6 percent from the previous year. Weekday ridership was up as well, to a daily average of 5.7 million. Weekend ridership, however, declined by 0.7 percent.

Some other tidbits, from the station-by-station data released by the MTA:

• Downtown Manhattan (defined by the MTA as anything south of Canal Street) saw average weekday ridership increase by nearly 4 percent.

• For the first time since the early 1990s, ridership on the L line from Third Avenue and Morgan Avenue declined. Overall, ridership at those stations fell 1.4 percent, with Grand Street experiencing the biggest drop, at 6.6 percent on weekdays.

• At the same time, weekday ridership on the J/M/Z line from Marcy Avenue to Myrtle Avenue is up 4.2 percent. The M line in general saw growth last year, and weekday ridership at the Central Avenue station was up a whopping 13.2 percent. (Incidentally, that station will be hit hard by the upcoming M line repairs: It’s one of two that will be closed entirely for some ten months while work is ongoing.)

• Times Square was the system’s busiest station in 2015, with an annual ridership of 66,359,208. Grand Central was second, at 46,737,564. Last on the list? The Broad Channel stop on the A and Rockaway Park shuttle lines, with 91,766 riders last year.

Subway Ridership Is at Its Highest Since 1948