Good morning, Transit Committee. My name is Benjy Ross, an intern at the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, PCAC.
Last week, we released an encouraging report on the changing commuting patterns on the subway post-congestion pricing. Using travel data from the MTA’s open data program, we found that subway ridership grew by 7.7% in 2025, double the 3.7% growth seen in 2024, showing a strong bounce back a year after slowing post-pandemic growth.
The report found that system-wide discretionary rides on the weekend grew by 9.4%, showing that weekend ridership growth continued to outpace weekday ridership, especially outside Manhattan.
We identified 39 stations that saw ridership grow more than 20% in 2025, that is something to celebrate. Additionally, the Bedford Ave L station saw 555,760 more rides on the weekends in 2025, more than any other in the system.
The data is clear: Congestion Pricing is working! We hope the agency will continue to support the ever-increasing number of frequent riders through enhanced fare incentives and programs that continue to make transit the most affordable way to get around our city and region.
Also of note, PCAC testified last week at City Council Budget hearings about the long overdue expansion of the Fair Fares program and the need for NYC DOT to meet the legal mandates of the Streets Plan and to make it easier for the MTA to achieve faster and more reliable bus service. PCAC has also strongly opposed any efforts to dismantle or create unworkable loopholes in the MTA’s ACE program, and released a memo against one such effort to the state legislature last week. We believe ACE is essential as it increases bus speeds by 5% and reduces collisions by 20%.
Thank you for your time.