MTA weekend ridership recovering better than weekday numbers post-pandemic
Average weekend ridership on the Long Island Rail Road was 27% higher in 2025 than it was in 2019, according to the report.
A new report from the State Comptroller’s Office says MTA weekday ridership never fully bounced back after the pandemic.
But despite weekday numbers lagging, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says people are taking the trains on the weekends more than ever.
Average weekend ridership on the Long Island Rail Road was 27% higher in 2025 than it was in 2019, according to the report.
That increase is credited in part to the new service provided to the Grand Central Madison station and has helped cancel out the weaker rush-hour traffic.
“Overall MTA ridership has grown consistently since the pandemic, but remains lower than 2019. Weekdays still comprise the vast majority of ridership, at 80% of the total in 2025, but the weekend share grew 3 percentage points to 20%, from 17% in 2019,” the report continues.
Weekday LIRR ridership is still down 40% from before the pandemic.
