Introduction to Subway Ridership

Subway
Introduction
At a Glance
Ridership by Subway Station
The Ten Busiest Subway Stations 2018

Bus
Introduction
At a Glance
Ridership by Bus Route
The Ten Busiest Local Bus Routes 2018

Introduction to Subway Ridership

Subway ridership consists of all passengers (other than NYC Transit employees) who enter the subway system, including passengers who transfer from buses.  Ridership does not include passengers who exit the subway or passengers who transfer from other subway lines, with the exception of out-of-system transfers; e.g., between the Lexington Av/63 St station and the Lexington Avenue /59 St station, where customers use their MetroCard to make the transfer.

Average weekday, Saturday, and Sunday ridership includes every weekday, Saturday, and Sunday in the year, except major holidays and days when the subway system was closed or operated fare-free. Average weekend ridership is the two-day sum of average Saturday plus average Sunday ridership. Ridership on major holidays (New Year’s Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) is included only in the annual total.

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Subway Ridership at a Glance

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Ridership by Subway Station

The New York City subway system has 472 stations including the recently opened 72 St, 86 St, and 96 St Second Avenue Subway stations – the largest number of public transit subway stations of any system in the world.  However, the table of ridership by station linked below lists 424 stations, with stations connected by transfer passageways combined into station complexes, since ridership cannot be accurately allocated to each station in the complex.  For example, the 14 St station is combined with the 8 Av station.
The station names and lines stopping at each station reflect service at the end of 2018, including the WTC Cortlandt 1 station, which re-opened on September 8, 2018.

In the following tables, stations are listed alphabetically by borough, and the rankings are by 2018 ridership.  The “systemwide adjustment” accounts for miscellaneous ridership and other adjustments that are not allocated by station.

Please click below for the complete tables of subway station ridership.  In these tables, stations that were temporarily closed (either fully or partially) are highlighted in blue; click on the station name for the closure dates.  For these stations, zero ridership was included in the averages for any days when the station was closed, except for the days when the entire subway was closed or fare-free.

Introduction to Bus Ridership

Bus ridership includes all passengers who board buses using a valid MetroCard, cash, transfer, Select Bus Service ticket, or pass.  Ridership does not include employees, non-revenue passengers (e.g., children under 44” tall traveling with an adult), and B42 riders boarding inside the paid zone of the Rockaway Parkway  subway station.  

Average weekday, Saturday, and Sunday ridership includes every weekday, Saturday, and Sunday in the year, except major holidays and days when the bus system was closed or operated fare-free. Average weekend ridership is the two-day sum of average Saturday plus average Sunday ridership. Ridership on major holidays (New Year’s Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) is included only in the annual total.

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MTA New York City Transit Bus Ridership at a Glance

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MTA Bus Company Ridership at a Glance

Ridership by Bus Route

At the end of 2018, the MTA Bus and New York City Transit bus system had 235 local, 18 Select Bus Service and 72 express routes. Starting August 18, 2018, the Staten Island Express Bus network was redesigned to bring faster and more direct service.  Local routes begin with one or two letters corresponding to the major borough of operation (B=Brooklyn, Bx=Bronx, M=Manhattan, Q=Queens, S=Staten Island). New York City Transit express routes begin with the letter “X”, except for “SIM” used for express routes established under the Staten Island Express Bus Network Redesign.  MTA Bus express routes begin with “BM” for Brooklyn to Manhattan routes, “BxM” for Bronx to Manhattan routes, and “QM” for Queens to Manhattan routes. In the ridership averages, zero was included for any day during the year on which a given route did not operate, except for the days when the entire bus system was closed or fare-free. In the following tables, certain routes that effectively operate as a single route are combined. For example:

• The S48 and S98 both run along Forest Avenue in Staten Island. The S48 makes all local stops, and the S98 makes limited stops.
• The Bx40 and Bx42 both run along Tremont Avenue in the Bronx; the Bx40 eastern terminal is at Fort Schuyler, and the Bx42 eastern terminal is on Harding Avenue.

The “systemwide adjustment” accounts for miscellaneous ridership not allocated by route and should be added to the route totals to match the official systemwide ridership shown in the “at a glance” table above.

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