The MTA confirmed Monday what many straphangers have suspected: subway ridership is growing, now reaching levels not seen in 70 years. NY1's Jose Martinez filed the following report.
In the subway these days, it often seems to be rush hour.
"It doesn't matter whether it's 8 o'clock in the morning or if it's 11 o'clock at night. It's always crowded," said one commuter.
On Monday, the MTA said ridership has surged to its highest level since the 1940s, with 1.75 billion straphangers last year.
"The ridership that we've been experiencing is just extraordinary," said MTA spokesperson Adam Lisberg. "It grew 2.6 percent in a single year. It's grown 10 percent over the last five years. That's half a million extra riders in five years."
On an average weekday, there are now 5.6 million riders. Some days, there are more than 6 million.
"It seems to be worse, yeah," said one commuter.
The surging population and the economy's comeback are fueling the growth, which is putting new stress on an already-strained system, causing delays and making it tougher to schedule repairs.
"We're breaking records on off-peak ridership, and so it's harder and harder to do this kind of work without inconveniencing people," Lisberg said. "And yet, as more and more people are taking the trains, it's even more important to do this kind of work."
The MTA's to-do list includes modernizing signals to allow more trains to run every hour. Only the booming L line has been updated, and the 7 is getting the upgrade next. But full funding for system-wide enhancements hasn't been secured.
"It takes time to convert to this, and the MTA is doing it, but they're doing it slowly," said Charles Brecher of the Citizens Budget Commission. "So I think the highest priority to deal with this would be to accelerate the timetable at which the MTA plans to convert to this new technology."
Another thing the MTA says will undo some of the squeeze on subway lines - particularly on the jammed 4, 5 and 6 lines - is the hoped-for December 2016 opening of the Second Avenue Subway.
The three-station spur will lighten the load on the Lexington Avenue line by nearly 200,000 riders a day. Meaning that opening day, just like that next train, can't get here soon enough.