NEW YORK (PIX11) – In February, ridership increased on both the Long Island Railroad and Metro-North, according to MTA data.
LIRR daily ridership was up 10% this February compared to last, and Metro-North ridership increased by 5% MTA data show.
For both commuter rails, daily ridership increased in February compared to the month before.
It follows a trend of increasing public transit use into the city since congestion pricing rolled out on Jan 5., MTA data show. In January, total Metro-North ridership was up 7.2% this January compared to the year before. Weekday ridership was up 5.9%, according to the MTA.
On the LIRR, ridership increased 11.2% in January. Commuter ridership was up 8.4%.
In January and again in February, daily car entries into the Central Business District decreased, another sign of the tolling program's success for MTA officials.
“These are just transformative improvements,” said Juliette Michaelson, chief of policy and external relations, in January. “When it comes to traffic in the zone and when it comes to transit ridership… what we studied, what we expected, what we planned for is what seems to be happening.”
The trend comes as the congestion pricing program, largely celebrated by the MTA and Gov. Kathy Hochul as a success, faces threats from the federal government.
Earlier in February, the federal government pulled its previous approval of the city’s new tolling program, and the MTA immediately filed a challenge in federal court. In the filing, the MTA called the decision to terminate the agreement “unlawful.”
Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here.
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