NYC Subway Ridership: Weekdays vs. Weekends
This chart compares average weekday and weekend subway ridership in New York City with their respective 2019 levels. It uses MTA data published through New York State Open Data and excludes major holidays; it measures estimated system entries rather than unique riders, completed trips, commuting, or office attendance.
What does it show?
Weekend subway ridership has nearly recovered, while weekday ridership remains well below its 2019 pattern.
Methodology
Sums the MTA ridership field to daily citywide totals using server-side Socrata aggregation of subway and Staten Island Railway paid entries for the 2019 baseline, then uses MTA's daily systemwide Subway estimates beginning March 2020. It calculates each complete month's average daily paid entries separately for Monday-Friday and Saturday-Sunday. Major U.S. holidays, their observed dates, and Easter Sunday are excluded. Each line is divided by the corresponding average eligible day in 2019. The pipeline requires continuous daily coverage within the official 2019 hourly and beginning-2020 daily tables and omits the current month until every calendar day is present. Ridership includes MetroCard and OMNY entries. The MTA notes that its next-day daily estimates may differ from official ridership totals; this is not a measure of office attendance, unique people, trips completed, or fare evasion.