Subway and Bus Ridership Statistics 2008

Subway
Introduction
At a Glance
2008 Ridership by Subway Station
The Ten Busiest Subway Stations 2008

Bus
Introduction
At a Glance
2008 Ridership by Bus Route
The Ten Busiest Local Bus Routes 2008

Introduction to MTA New York City Transit Subway Ridership

Subway ridership consists of all passengers (other than NYC Transit employees) who enter the subway system, including passengers who transfer from buses.  Ridership does not include passengers who exit the subway or passengers who transfer from other subway lines, with the exception of out-of-system transfers; e.g., between the Lexington Avenue/63rd Street station and the Lexington Avenue/59th Street station, where customers use their MetroCard to make the transfer.

Average weekday, Saturday, and Sunday ridership includes every weekday, Saturday, and Sunday in the year, except major holidays.  Ridership on major holidays (New Year’s Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) is included only in the annual total.

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2008 subway ridership at a glance

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2008 Ridership by Subway Station

The New York City subway system has 468 stations – the largest number of public transit subway stations of any system in the world.  However, the table of ridership by station linked below lists 424 stations, with stations connected by transfer passageways combined into station complexes, since ridership cannot be accurately allocated to each station in the complex.  For example, the 14 St station is combined with the 8 Av station.

In the table linked below, stations are listed alphabetically by borough.  The station ranking is by 2008 annual ridership.  The ranking ends at 422 rather than 424 stations, since two stations are temporarily closed (Cortlandt Street and Cortlandt Street ).  Ridership by subway station does not include adjustments for miscellaneous ridership and credit card chargebacks; therefore, the sum of station ridership differs slightly from the official system-wide subway ridership shown in the “at a glance” table above.

Please click here for the complete table of subway station ridership.

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Introduction to MTA New York City Transit Bus Ridership

Bus ridership consists of all passengers (other than NYC Transit employees) who board buses, including passengers who transfer from other buses or from the subway.

Average weekday, Saturday, and Sunday ridership includes every weekday, Saturday, and Sunday in the year, except major holidays.  Ridership on major holidays (New Year’s Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) is included only in the annual total.

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2008 bus ridership at a glance

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2008 Ridership by Bus Route

The New York City Transit bus system had 208 local and 36 express routes in 2008.  Local routes begin with one or two letters corresponding to the major borough of operation (B=Brooklyn, Bx=Bronx, M=Manhattan, Q=Queens, S=Staten Island), while express routes begin with the letter “X.”
In the table linked below, certain pairs of routes that effectively operate as a single route are combined.  For example:

• The S48 and S98 both run along Forest Avenue in Staten Island. The S48 makes all local stops, and the S98 makes limited stops.

• The X28 and X38 both run between Cropsey Avenue in Brooklyn and midtown Manhattan; the X28 travels via lower Manhattan, and the X38 bypasses lower Manhattan.

• The Bx40 and Bx42 both run along Tremont Avenue in the Bronx; the Bx40 eastern terminal is at Fort Schuyler, and the Bx42 eastern terminal is on Harding Avenue.

Due to these route combinations, the table of ridership by bus route linked below lists 194 local routes and 33 express routes.  Ridership by bus route does not include adjustments for miscellaneous ridership and credit card chargebacks; therefore, the sum of route ridership differs slightly from the official system-wide bus ridership shown in the “at a glance” table above.

Please click here for the complete table of bus route ridership.

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