Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) achieved an all-time Sunday subway ridership record during the 50th running of the iconic five borough course of the New York City Marathon, carrying 3.14 million riders and shattering last year’s record of 2.81 million riders by 11 percent, and representing 109 percent of pre-pandemic Sunday ridership. Additionally, on Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31, subways carried 3.59 million riders, surpassing the previous post-pandemic Saturday record of 3.27 million riders set on May 16, 2026, and the highest Saturday since 2016. These milestones follow a record-breaking Thursday, when the subway carried 4.72 million riders, marking the highest post-pandemic single-day subway ridership. This represents a 9.7 percent increase from the same day last year.
“From the streets to the subways, New Yorkers were on the move this weekend in record numbers,” Governor Hochul said. “The subway is the lifeblood of our city and from Halloween to the marathon, the major events that make New York special simply would not be possible without mass transit. We have made historic investments to run better service and keep riders safe and New Yorkers have responded by riding in ever growing numbers.”
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “Spirits were high this weekend for Halloween and the NYC Marathon, but subway ridership was even higher. These record-breaking numbers show once again that when New York goes big, it goes by mass transit.”…