NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- Monthly ridership on the Long Island Rail Road — the nation’s busiest commuter rail line — surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time, as a hectic New York City summer boosted trips.
About 7.9 million riders used the LIRR in June, roughly 102% more than in the same month in 2019, said LIRR President Rob Free during a Metropolitan Transportation Authority committee meeting on Monday.
Ridership jumped as golf fans flocked to the four-day US Open golf tournament in Southampton, New York. LIRR also carried Long Island residents into New York City for the NBA Championship Finals as well as the massive ticker-tape parade along Manhattan streets on June 18.
June marks the first time that monthly ridership on one of MTA’s transit or rail lines has exceeded pre-Covid numbers, according to John McCarthy, MTA’s head of policy and external relations. The MTA is a state-run agency that oversees New York City’s subways, buses, the LIRR and Metro-North Railroad.
The LIRR is also seeing more usage from riders who aren’t taking the system for the traditional Monday-through-Friday work schedule. So-called non-commutation ridership — which includes leisure travel, one-way trips and off-peak travel — reached 5 million in June, a record for the LIRR, according to Free.
“That’s the highest non-commutation ridership in the history of the Long Island Rail Road since we’ve been keeping track,” he said.
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