COVID-19’s impact on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority remains clear, even with commuter rail ridership increasing last year.
Long Island Rail Road ridership rose to 52.5 million customers last year, a 50.1% increase from the 35 million customers in 2021.
These numbers are still much lower than pre-pandemic ridership. “Of course that’s excellent news, but ridership is still two-thirds of what it was pre-COVID,” said Gerard Bringmann, chairman of the LIRR Commuter Council.
“So, while riders are coming back, we still have a long way to go,” he added.
Bringmann notes that a likely cause of this is the shift in workplace environments after the COVID-19 pandemic. He said an increase in workplaces using hybrid work schedules results in lower ridership levels.
“Hybrid work has changed the world,” said Jim Cameron, founder of the Commuter Action Group in Connecticut. “Even those who must go to the office only do it a few days a week.”
Bringmann emphasized that this issue is not only for the MTA. “It’s been a shift everywhere in the United States,” he said.
“I wish I had a solution for it,” Bringmann said. He suggested that there will likely need to be state or federal government subsidies to combat this financial loss.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed a package of over $400 million to help improve MTA customer service and reduce expenses.
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli forecasts a $2.5 billion in 2025 and 2026 as spending outpaces inflation projections, but that could grow to over $4.5 billion if the MTA fails to curb costs and economic trends weaken tax revenues.
Metro-North ridership also rose 58.8% to 48.9 million customers.
“I’m cautiously optimistic that ridership will continue to return to Metro-North,” said Jim Gildea, chair of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council. “We have certainly seen signs that riders are coming back,” he added, pointing out the bustling weekday commutes on the Hartford and Waterbury lines.
These numbers still have a long way to go. The MTA has said ridership may not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2035.
