Wednesday, March 25th, 2026
Good morning, I’m Brian Fritsch, Associate Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, PCAC.
We recently released a new report, called Ridership Returns, analyzing 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. Growth in discretionary travel is outpacing weekday rush hour growth, showing riders are choosing transit even when they have other options.
In short, the data in the report is clear: Congestion Pricing is working! It’s yet another line on the long list of successes for the program, which also includes some recent legal victories against Secretary Duffy.
We hope and expect we will soon add another legal win over the Feds on Second Avenue Subway funding, and are glad the board is keeping the project moving.
We were also thrilled to hear about the RFP for almost 2,400 new subway cars, the MTA’s largest ever order. We look forward to enhanced security and accessibility features, as well as lighter, more energy-efficient rolling stock.
We also can’t wait to try out the upgraded MTA app and look forward to the forthcoming updates to better integrate OMNY transactions and the railroads.
Ending today with three quick points of caution: First, we are pushing the NYCDOE to work harder to help get digital OMNY cards off the ground. Students deserve an OMNY card that they can rely on.
Second, we are strongly opposed to any efforts to dismantle or create unworkable loopholes in the MTA’s ACE program, and released a memo against one such effort in the State Legislature.
Third, we are very concerned about Amtrak’s lack of transparency around the Penn Station project. It seems like the master developer will be picked in around a month with almost no meaningful public input. Thank you.