With the unpausing of congestion pricing, the light at the end of the tunnel is the new signals, upgraded power systems, and hundreds of modern subway cars that will ensure more reliable, faster, safer service for decades to come.
These improvements can’t come fast enough as ridership across NYC Transit continues to reach new heights. October was our best month in four years on the subways, with 114 million rides delivered. That’s up 10 million from last year, and on November 4, we served our one billionth customer of 2024 – two weeks sooner than last year and two months earlier than in 2022.
Buses have similar momentum, carrying 40 million paying customers in October, a 10% increase over last year. In fact, September and October were the first two months with year-over-year bus ridership growth since 2022.
This development shows that our new strategy to address bus fare evasion is making a difference. Since deploying EAGLE teams of fare inspectors to known problem routes, we’ve seen bus fare evasion drop for the first time since the pandemic, with fare payment up 21% at these patrolled stops and routes. We’re not declaring victory just yet, but the early progress is encouraging.
Another point of pride: Access-A-Ride paratransit is having an historic year, far outpacing any other MTA service. The team recently celebrated its first day ever with more than 40,000 customers, and ridership overall is up nearly 20% from last year thanks to recent upgrades to the online booking process and strong on-time performance from our third-party providers.
It also can’t be overlooked that the transit system is safer now than before the pandemic. Subway crime is down nearly 7% for the year because of our close partnership with the NYPD. In addition to increasing patrols underground, officers are providing critical support to our bus fare enforcement efforts, making several notable arrests for outstanding warrants.
Service has also been on a roll this fall. Subway on-time performance is at or approaching high points for the year on weekdays and weekends. We delivered more bus service in October than in any month this year, and as I said, paratransit is raising the bar for the entire MTA.
For as long as I’m president of NYC Transit, we will continue to prioritize safety and service in our mission to move six million people every day. That number is more than double the amount of daily airline passengers in the entire country, and six times the number of cars that drive into Manhattan on any given day. The 49,000 women and men of NYC Transit are moving all of us.
