Subway (and bus) ridership in 2008 hit an all time high according to a report released by the MTA.
There were 2.37 billion subway and bus rides. That’s billion with a B. Billion. Can you even fathom that number? It blows my mind.
That big number represents a 3.1% increase.
Of that, there were 1.62 billion subway rides, a 3.9% increase. That’s the highest ridership since 1950.
Who cares about all of this? You should. Why?
Because the MTA is such a financial disaster, they are actually trying to cut services. That’s right…CUT. They want to cut service in a system has a growing demand of 3%+ each year. That makes no sense at.
With demand increasing due to gas prices, a tanking economy, and increased home residential living, there has never been a time where investing in mass transportation made more sense.
SUBWAYblogger 
Obama’s people seem to be a lot smarter than the Republicans that dug us into a financial hole. He’s trying to stimulate job creation by supporting some mass transit projects. Maybe we can get the people at the MTA that need more money to provide less services to seek employment elsewhere by getting them to take bailout money and get re-organized by the feds. When you visit a subway system in Washington DC or Hong Kong you realize immediately that subways can be clean. The MTA could be better run and New Yorkers are really whimpy for accepting the garbage and rats in the subway as acceptable. It is not.
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I’m curious: Where did you get the fact that this is an all-time high? According to the info I’ve gotten from the MTA, it was a 43-year high but it’s unclear if it’s an all-time high. City Room reported the news the same way without noting that it’s an all-time high.
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Agreed! I use the train every day, cutting service doesn’t even come close to making sense in any kind of way.
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‘Bout time we organized a commuter strike.
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@jim:
I agree with Jim 100%. Many trains are already so crowded, even on weekends sometimes, that I have to wait for more than one to enter the station before I can squeeze onto one. The I’m packed like a sardine with barely any room to breathe until I have to push and shove my way off. Overcrowding will be so much worse if they cut service. What they need is more service, not less.
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