2022 Bus Ridership Statistics

[Mpn4179]

Here are the ridership results for 2022.

https://new.mta.info/agency/new-york-city-transit/subway-bus-ridership-2022

 

Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and majority of Staten Island went up in ridership.

All Express bus routes went up in ridership as well.

Only a handful of routes in the Bronx went up in ridership, although many factors affected the ridership of most routes in that borough that year.

We have a new number 2 in the top 10 highest ridership bus routes, although the whole top 10 got very interesting overall.

[hounddriver]

How can these figures be anywhere near accurate with the rampant fare beating that exists?

 

[trainfan22]

1 hour ago, hounddriver said:

How can these figures be anywhere near accurate with the rampant fare beating that exists?

 

Yeah, I refuse to believe only a "handful" of routes in the BX went up in ridership. Buses stay crush loaded in the BX and half of the time ppl board though the rear without paying.

[Q43LTD]

Top 10 by borough:

Bronx

Bx12

Bx1/2

Bx9

Bx19

Bx36

Bx6

Bx40/42

Bx7

Bx41

Bx28/38

Brooklyn

B6

B46

B82

B44

B35

B41

B1

B8

B38

B15

Manhattan

M15

M101

M14

M86

M4

M96

M34

M3

M102

M11

Queens

Q58

Q27

Q65

Q44

Q10

Q25

Q52/53

Q46

Q23

Q17

Staten Island

S79

S53

S48/98

S44/94

S46/96

S78

S93

S74/84

S61/91

S40/90

Express

SIM1

X27/37

X28/38

SIM4

BxM7

SIM10

BxM9

SIM3

SIM8

SIM33

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by Q43LTD

[Ex696]

The B6 surpassing the B46, is this genuine or is this because of farebeating on the B46 SBS leading to presumed lower ridership?

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

Several somewhat interesting stuff. As many pointed out, the large drops in The Bronx and even on Staten Island are likely due to farebeating. Other routes may have been affected by the Bronx bus redistribution redesign, such as the Bx18 and Bx30 so we have no idea what it is actually like. Plus with the Bx30, Bee-Line's free fare promotions have also been taking away ridership. The Q70 also suffered a drop, likely because they stopped counting once the route became free.

We now have one route in the entire system that made a net gain in ridership compared to pre-pandemic (2019 in this case): the BxM4. Annual ridership is 2.49% higher than what it was in 2019 (ridership is up 0.44% on weekdays, and 2.56% on weekends). The nearest route to 100% of 2019 annual ridership is the BxM6 at 98.6%.

Below are some more stats:

Local Buses

When accounting across all metrics (weekday, weekend, annual), Queens leads the way in terms of recovery, followed by Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and The Bronx. Here's how counted annual borough-wide recovery looks like with MTA Bus Company and NYC Transit routes together:

• Queens: 68.65%
• Manhattan: 63.25%
• Brooklyn: 62.85%
• Staten Island: 57.16%
• The Bronx: 53.03%

The bus routes with the highest increases in ridership from 2021 are routes which go through Midtown, primarily operate in Southern Brooklyn, and buses operating in Northeast Queens between Northern and Hillside Avenues. That swath of NE Queens routes saw some of the biggest jumps in ridership in the entire city. 

Most bus routes have recovered anywhere from 50-70%. Some routes have counts indicating less than 50% of 2019 levels, while some others have over 70% (most of which are MTA Bus Company routes). The top 3 routes in terms of annual recovery compared to 2019 levels are:

• M12 - 96.42%
• Q18 - 82.46%
• M11 - 80.09%

Excluding the Q70, below are routes which had counted below 50% of pre-pandemic levels on.....

Weekdays (13 Routes)*^

• Bx5 (47.51%), Bx6 (48.34%), Bx20 (49.9%), Bx27 (49.64%), Bx29 (45.16%), Bx30 (43.11%), Bx41 (47.29%), M8 (45.57%), M14 SBS (46.80%) M35 (19.92%), S40/90 (46.83%), S42 (41.46%), S52 (48/81%)

Weekends (13 Routes)*^

• B46 (49.44%), Bx5 (48.13%), Bx6 (48.84%), Bx12 (49.26%), Bx27 (48.39%), Bx29 (45.59%), Bx32 (49.04%), Bx33 (47.34%), Bx41 (44.25%), M14 SBS (39.55%), M35 (25.30%), M60 SBS (48.82%), S40/90 (45.81%), S52 (49.53%)

Annual (12 Routes) *^

• Bx5 (47.62%), Bx6 (48.41%), Bx20 (49.89%), Bx27 (49.43%), Bx29 (45.27%), Bx41 (46.60%), M8 (46.24%), M14 SBS (45.10%), M35 (21.23%), S40/90 (46.61%), S42 (41.43%), S52 (48.94%)

* = The Bx26 alone for 2022 saw a dip, however when combined with the Bx25 numbers was over 50% and not included (also due to changes in 2022)

^ = Does not factor Bx15, Bx30, Bx36, Bx40/42 due to significant route change in 2022 and/or changes heavily impacting potential ridership, which all made 50% below

-----------------------

Here's a list of routes which saw over 70% of 2019 ridership levels, in 2022:

70-80%*:

• B57, B68, Bx23, M2, M31, M42, M57, M98, M103, Q3, Q5, Q8, Q15, Q20, Q23, Q24, Q25, Q28, Q29, Q31, Q36, Q39, Q47, Q49, Q54, Q55, Q56, Q58, Q59, Q60, Q65, Q66, Q67, Q72, Q76, Q77, Q88, Q103, Q104, Q110

80-90%

• M11, Q19

90%-100%

• M12

* = Does not include Bx18 because of significant route and frequency changes in 2022

-----------------------

The top three local routes in each borough to see annual increases in 2022 are as follows:

Bronx* - Bx20 (18.4%), Bx24 (7.2%), Bx10 (7.1%)

Brooklyn - B32 (38.1%), B70 (32.2%), B31 (31.2%) 

Manhattan - M12 (60.2%), M50 (42.9%), M1 (39.3%)

Queens - Q26 (54.9%), Q30 (46.6%), Q31 (45.8%)

Staten Island S93 (47.8%), S89 (20.4%), S66 (13.0%)

* = Does not include the Bx18 due to significant route and frequency changes 

 

The top three local routes in each borough to see annual increases in 2022 are as follows:

Bronx* - Bx41 (-16.9%), Bx39 (-13.0%), Bx19 (-10.8%)

Brooklyn^ - B46 (-2.7%), B47 (-1.6%), B12 (-1.4%) 

Manhattan* - M35 (-17.8%)

Queens* ' - Q22 (-7.8%)

Staten Island S93 (47.8%), S89 (20.4%), S66 (13.0%)

* Does not include Bx15, Bx26, Bx29, Bx30, M100, Q50 reductions because they received significant route changes, or had changes which had notable impacts to ridership

^ = Does not include the B42 (-5.1%) because riders are not counted boarding from Canarsie - Rockaway Parkway  station

' = Does not include Q70 SBS loss because it became free

 

Express Buses

In terms of annual bus ridership across the system (NYCT + MTABC), here are the top ten express bus routes:

• SIM1/1C
• SIM4/4C
• BxM7
• X27/37
• X28/38
• SIM33
• SIM3
• BxM9
• BxM8
• BxM10

Most annual express bus ridership in 2022 was 70% of pre-pandemic (2019) levels or higher. The network as a whole (NYCT + MTA Bus) saw 70.39% of 2019 levels. However some were below that threshold, including a few below 50%. Below are routes which were under 70%:

<50%

• SIM5, SIM9, SIM32

50-60%

• QM1/31, QM2/32, QM8, QM24/34, QM25, SIM2, SIM4, SIM6, SIM7, SIM8, SIM15, SIM25, SIM26, SIM31, SIM34, SIM35

60-70%

• QM6, QM7, QM16, QM20, SIM1, SIM10, SIM11, SIM30, X68

And also below are the select few routes which saw 90% or greater:

• BM2, BxM3, BxM4, BxM6, BxM8

The top five routes in each borough to see annual increases in 2022 are as follows:

• QM11 (91.9%), QM7 (91.2%), QM25 (89.6%), QM8 (80.6%), SIM9 (76.3%) 

The biggest increases in ridership were the downtown routes, with several routes seeing an 80% increase in ridership from 2021. Not one express route lost ridership in 2022.

Weekend ridership has not only rebounded, but for several routes it is even higher than pre-pandemic levels. This may be in part due to the fear and sentiment surrounding subway crime, coupled with ever-lasting track work and outages. The routes listed below have weekend ridership higher than what it was pre-pandemic:

• BM1 (106.24%)
• BM3 (121.06%)
• BM4 (118.30%)
• BxM4 (117.20%)
• BxM6 (102.56%)
• X27 (102.28%)
• X28 (126.23%)

In addition, the BM2, BM5, BxM3, BxM10, QM4, QM15, and SIM33C all have weekend ridership numbers between 95% and 100% of pre-pandemic levels.

Edited August 12, 2023 by BM5 via Woodhaven

[B35 via Church]

12 hours ago, hounddriver said:

How can these figures be anywhere near accurate with the rampant fare beating that exists?

I've been having very little interest in these ridership stats for the past couple years now, and this is the main reason why.... You got a whole culture of farebeating in effect throughout the city (it isn't just limited to the quote-unquote usual suspects anymore), and coupled with the systemwide ridership losses of 2020, things are HEAVILY skewed....

Case in point, now anyone that knows the system knows that there's no way in f*** that the Q58, authentically, garners more patronage than the damn Bx12.... And the M15 garners almost 3 million more riders than the runner-up - When there's been a close "battle" for bragging rights (so to speak) between the Bx12 & the M15 for years (before 2020)? Man, come on, Who believes this!?!??!!

IINM, this thread, with the few replies it's gotten thus far, has more replies than the thread for last year's stats....

4 hours ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Several somewhat interesting stuff. As many pointed out, the large drops in The Bronx and even on Staten Island are likely due to farebeating. Other routes may have been affected by the Bronx bus redistribution redesign, such as the Bx18 and Bx30 so we have no idea what it is actually like. Plus with the Bx30, Bee-Line's free fare promotions have also been taking away ridership. The Q70 also suffered a drop, likely because they stopped counting once the route became free.....

Lol.... so the 2023 stats will show the Q70 as having Zero riders.... The B60 will also see a noticeable ridership "decline" in the 2023 stats, as that route's set to be fare free come this fall....

[Q43LTD]

I like how the Bx28 and 38 are combined as one route, but not the 25 and 26

9 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

Lol.... so the 2023 stats will show the Q70 as having Zero riders.... The B60 will also see a noticeable ridership "decline" in the 2023 stats, as that route's set to be fare free come this fall....

And don't forget the M116, Q4, Bx18 and some Staten Island route will be free as well

[Ex696]

49 minutes ago, Q43LTD said:

and some Staten Island route will be free as well

S46/96

[NoHacksJustKhaks]

Putting the whole idea of farebeating aside, within Queens, Routes running between Southern and Northern Queens saw the biggest raw pax increase between 2021 and 2022. The Q27 and Q25 had ridership that dramatically went up compared to 2021.

10,879-15,618: Q27 (going up by nearly 5,000)

10,766-14,181: Q25

9,7161-2,894: Q46

17,627-20,592: Q58 (perennial highest in Queens)

7,891-10,719: Q17

Between all these five routes, ridership went from 56.8K to 74K.

I'd note that in 2021, remote learning at CUNY and DOE schools was still going on partially, 2021 was also somewhat of a recovery year from 2020. 2022 was the first year where a good chunk of riders actually seemed to have returned on these routes. 

[Ex696]

Why did the B39's ridership fall off so drastically?

 

[JAzumah]

6 hours ago, NoHacksJustKhaks said:

Putting the whole idea of farebeating aside

You can't draw any conclusions that are meaningful with incomplete data. This is the same problem that the MTA now has.

[NoHacksJustKhaks]

2 hours ago, JAzumah said:

You can't draw any conclusions that are meaningful with incomplete data. This is the same problem that the MTA now has.

Agreed.

The Express bus pax change between 2021 and 2022 is a lot more dramatic (though not representative of) the local bus change. if ur a farebeater with common sense, the express bus is no safe bet lol 

Edited August 13, 2023 by NoHacksJustKhaks

[Ex696]

Now that I think about it, how come the M15 went up whereas the Bx12 and B46 went down?

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

5 hours ago, Ex696 said:

Why did the B39's ridership fall off so drastically?

 

The B39 wasn't running during overnight hours in 2022 like it did for the first half of 2021. 

[B35 via Church]

29 minutes ago, Ex696 said:

Now that I think about it, how come the M15 went up whereas the Bx12 and B46 went down?

There's not much to think about.... There are more paying customers on the M15 than on the B46 & the Bx12.... It is as simple as that.

38 minutes ago, NoHacksJustKhaks said:

The Express bus pax change between 2021 and 2022 is a lot more dramatic (though not representative of) the local bus change. if ur a farebeater with common sense, the express bus is no safe bet lol 

Some of that had to do with the (real, and/or perceived... depending on who you ask) safety of the subway.

Edited August 13, 2023 by B35 via Church

[JAzumah]

5 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Some of that had to do with the (real, and/or perceived... depending on who you ask) safety of the subway.

The subway has a real safety issue and the future health of the NYC economy depends on getting this issue under control. It may even mean bringing back the Transit Police. It is well understood that fare evasion goes hand in hand with crime in the subway system. I'm tired of seeing suspects dressed for winter in the summertime jumping turnstiles. It took a lot of work to keep the subway safe and today's folks in government forgot the entire lesson.

Having said that, the express buses should have a peak/off-peak fare standardized with the City Ticket. In addition, the MTA needs to market its express buses better. The population has changed and you can't assume that all the new residents know about the express buses.

[B35 via Church]

3 hours ago, JAzumah said:

The subway has a real safety issue and the future health of the NYC economy depends on getting this issue under control. It may even mean bringing back the Transit Police. It is well understood that fare evasion goes hand in hand with crime in the subway system. I'm tired of seeing suspects dressed for winter in the summertime jumping turnstiles. It took a lot of work to keep the subway safe and today's folks in government forgot the entire lesson.

I'm not getting into whether the subway safety issue is real or perceived/overblown (as I've heard/read enough arguments for both sides), but what I will say to that part (in bold) is that I've never seen anyone going to that length to jump a turnstile in this city.... Not even necessary for anyone to do that; the shit is almost as easy as breathing with the way mf-ers are out here jumping turnstiles (or otherwise farebeating in the subways).....

[Q43LTD]

I don't mean to go off topic, but I like how the ridership statistics for the ex private lines weren't available until 2011.

[Mtatransit]

On 8/12/2023 at 4:10 AM, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Queens leads the way in terms of recovery, followed by Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and The Bronx.

This is also coincidentally from least to greatest in the amount of fare beating. With Queens being the least, and the Bronx being the most, and the other boroughs, exactly in the order I experienced.

These data especially from recent years, don't mean anything, when >50% of the people don't pay

On 8/12/2023 at 11:04 AM, NoHacksJustKhaks said:

Putting the whole idea of farebeating aside, within Queens, Routes running between Southern and Northern Queens saw the biggest raw pax increase between 2021 and 2022. The Q27 and Q25 had ridership that dramatically went up compared to 2021.

10,879-15,618: Q27 (going up by nearly 5,000)

10,766-14,181: Q25

9,7161-2,894: Q46

17,627-20,592: Q58 (perennial highest in Queens)

7,891-10,719: Q17

Between all these five routes, ridership went from 56.8K to 74K.

I'd note that in 2021, remote learning at CUNY and DOE schools was still going on partially, 2021 was also somewhat of a recovery year from 2020. 2022 was the first year where a good chunk of riders actually seemed to have returned on these routes. 

Can you really put farebeating aside though. Look at your list. they are all in NE/Northern Queens that touches FLushing, every most people pay. Why is none of the Jamaica Center/southern Queens routes on this list. If you guessed no one pays, you got it.

Edited August 16, 2023 by Mtatransit

[Mtatransit]

The Staten Island routes I have been on has been packed, its just you can count on one hand how many people pay on those buses. Plus those buses are disgusting, and I now see people smoking on them. This is something you never see in Northern Queens

Same thing with the Bronx, go ride the Bx15, and it is like SBS but nobody pays.

For every 1 person that pays at least 10 don't. I see operator just give up counting and just press F5 for every passenger on the bus

 

Atleast the dwell time is shorter, and the bus can keep moving since no one need to dip their Metrocard

On 8/12/2023 at 8:55 AM, Q43LTD said:

ALL of Staten Island route will be are free as well

Fixed it for you, S46 hahahahaha MTA will lose no fare revenue with this bus being free

Edited August 16, 2023 by Mtatransit

[NewFlyer 230]

Wow crazy to see the Q27 being in the top 10 and not the Q44. However most days the Q44 is free so most people figure why bother paying. The Q27 does happen to be one of those routes that run through an area where more people are willing to pay the fare.

The ridership statistic list to me points out which lines see high farebeating nowadays especially when you compare it to data 10 years ago. 
The Q44 seems to be just as packed as it was pre pandemic but the fare is rarely enforced. I did see the eagle team doing ticket checks about 2 weeks ago but that was the first time I saw them in over a year and I use the Q44 on a somewhat regular basis. 

[JAzumah]

16 minutes ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

I did see the eagle team doing ticket checks about 2 weeks ago but that was the first time I saw them in over a year and I use the Q44 on a somewhat regular basis. 

They should put two teams at Flushing-Main Street and check every bus in both directions for two or three days straight and see what happens.

[B35 via Church]

25 minutes ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

Wow crazy to see the Q27 being in the top 10 and not the Q44. However most days the Q44 is free so most people figure why bother paying. The Q27 does happen to be one of those routes that run through an area where more people are willing to pay the fare.

Didn't even notice that (about the Q44)...

Not that it makes any real difference at this point (not that this should even be questioned), but I wonder which SBS route has the highest percentage of paying customers...

[JAzumah]

On 8/13/2023 at 6:31 AM, B35 via Church said:

Not even necessary for anyone to do that; the shit is almost as easy as breathing with the way mf-ers are out here jumping turnstiles (or otherwise farebeating in the subways)...

You are correct, but those are the ones that usually end up doing something criminal in or outside of the subway. It's one thing for people who can't ski to wear ski masks. It is another thing to see ski masks and/or hoodies in the summer.