NEW YORK — After a long pandemic that affected passenger numbers on the subway from New York City, the MTA celebrated its billionth customer of 2022 who was identified as Sasha Salazar, a Hispanic woman from The Bronx who entered the station 161 St-Yankee Stadium the Thuesday in the morning.
Governor Kathy Hochul acknowledged the announcement by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) that it will provide 1 billion trips by 2022.
“We have been working hard to bring customers back by providing safer, cleaner and faster service, and reaching 1 billion passengers by 2022 is evidence that our work is paying off,” said Governor Hochul. “New Yorkers and tourists alike continue to flock to the subway, proving that there’s no better way to get around New York City than public transportation.”
And Salazar lived through the experience with emotion and with an additional $100 in credits for his transportation, MTA representatives are optimistic to see such an increase in sponsorship that had not been seen since 2019.
“I walk by and two men are there saying ‘hello, you’re the billionth customer’ and I say oh my God,” Salazar told Telemundo 47.
The milestone marks the first time the New York City subway has carried 1 billion customers in a calendar year since 2019. The subway carried 760 million customers in 2021 and 640 million in 2020. Average daily subway ridership it is currently around 60 percent of 2019 pre-pandemic levels, when the system carried 1.698 million passengers.
“The trains are cleaner, they are safer and as you can see here we have the police that are setting up our trains and I think that people are realizing that and that means something for the users who want to ride with us, they want to go where they have to go,” said MTA press spokeswoman Amanda de Valdez.
The MTA’s OMNY fare payment system also saw usage growth in 2022 with more than 425 million touches. This increase in subway passenger market share for OMNY follows the introduction of the “Lucky 13” fare cap program, the launch of OMNY for MTA reduced-fare customers, and the continued expansion of OMNY cards. in retail stores.
