At the heart of midtown, Times Square is a critical hub in the MTA subway network with five stations within the district boundaries. The number of individuals who commute through Times Square every day is astounding — the average daily ridership of the Times Square-42nd Street station in 2019 was a staggering 340,089.  Due to the coronavirus pandemic, that number decreased by 68.72% in 2020. Today (per the MTA), ridership patterns have shifted and discretionary travel is becoming more prevalent than commutation travel. Increased telecommuting and more flexible work-from-home policies have made traditional five-day commuting less common. However, subway ridership for the our district is now at 67% of 2019 levels and continues to recover. 

Historic Transit Ridership

Perhaps even more impressive than current figures is the rate at which the Times Square ridership has skyrocketed over the last two decades. Average daily ridership in the district increased 71% between 1996 and 2019, representing an additional 38,736,605 passengers annually — 106,128 passengers per day.  In 2020, average daily ridership in the district reduced to 103,603 passengers due to the pandemic. Today that number is 228,927 average daily passengers (74 million annually) — a 121% increase. 

BROWSE detailed historical data on Times Square’s ridership in our 2011 report, or drag your mouse across the chart below to see how subway ridership in our five district stations has increased over the last twenty years.

Numbers courtesy of the NYC MTA.