New York City Transit is “on track” to have its best on-time performance on record. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is on pace for a record-breaking year, with ridership and on-time service improving across New York City Transit, the Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North Railroad during the first half of 2025. Customer satisfaction has also increased across all three agencies, while major crimes in the subway system have dropped 3.2 percent compared to the same period last year, and nearly 10 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
“MTA ridership, performance, and safety are all improving dramatically in 2025, serving nearly six million New Yorkers every day and keeping New York moving,” Hochul said. “Thanks to the investments we’re making in safer, more reliable, and more frequent service, riders are benefiting every day. When transit is thriving, New York is thriving.”
During the first half of 2025, performance across New York City Transit reached historic highs. Weekday subway on-time performance hit 83.7 percent—up 2.4 percent from the same period last year and on pace for the best non-pandemic year in recorded history.
Weekday subway delays are down 11 percent compared to 2024, while weekend delays have dropped 14 percent. Bus service delivery remained above 95 percent each month in 2025 so far, with speeds steadily improving in the first half of the year.
In the biannual customer survey completed this spring, satisfaction rose by 8 percent on subways, 11 percent on local buses, and 9 percent on express buses compared to fall 2024.
The MTA credits improved bus service to upgrades made earlier this year, which increased service on eight express and 15 local high-ridership routes. Further gains are expected from the Queens Bus Network Redesign, the system’s most significant overhaul in 70 years, which has revamped all but three of the borough’s bus routes to boost transit equity, speed commutes, and enhance service for roughly 800,000 daily riders.
Ridership has also increased this year. In June, NYCT recorded over 106 million rides, a 10 percent increase from 2024. Subway ridership for 2025 is up 8 percent compared to last year and 31 percent higher than in 2022. Ridership gains continued into July, with the first post-pandemic days exceeding four million subway rides occurring on July 9 and 10.
Paratransit services like Access-A-Ride have also seen significant ridership and performance gains. In June, the service carried 1.3 million riders across 904,000 completed trips, both above pre-Covid highs, and achieved a 92 percent on-time performance rate for the month. Customer satisfaction has remained strong, consistently above 78 percent throughout 2025.
More New Yorkers are riding the bus as well, with ridership up 12 percent compared to 2024. Additionally, fare evasion on the city’s bus system—which has the highest rate of any in the country—has declined following the MTA’s increased enforcement efforts. Together, buses and subways have carried over 850 million riders in the first half of 2025.
In June, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) reached a new post-pandemic high, averaging 266,047 weekday riders. On June 18, it set a single-day post-pandemic ridership record with 287,437 customers. The railroad carried 6.9 million passengers throughout the month, reaching 89 percent of pre-pandemic ridership—the best June since 2019.
Year-to-date ridership on the LIRR is up 9 percent compared to 2024 and 64 percent compared to 2022. The railroad also set a new June non-pandemic on-time performance record at 95.9 percent, improving 1.4 percentage points from 2024.
On June 18, Metro-North carried nearly 259,000 riders, setting a new post-pandemic single-day high, while average weekday ridership for June reached 235,450, also a post-pandemic record. Year-to-date Metro-North ridership is up 6 percent compared to 2024 and 63 percent compared to 2022.
Metro-North also achieved a 98 percent on-time performance rate in June, continuing its strong start to 2025. In a customer satisfaction survey conducted this spring, the agency recorded an 89 percent satisfaction rating—a 4 percent increase from fall 2024—while LIRR customer satisfaction rose 11 percent compared to the same period last year.
“NYC Transit is working hard to deliver fast, reliable and safe service for riders and that determination is reflected in these historic on-time performance and ridership numbers,” NYCT President Demetrius Crichlow said.
“We’ll keep up the momentum and build on this success across subways, buses and paratransit as we head into the rest of the year.”
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