New York transit officials say ridership increased on the nation's two largest commuter railroad systems last year.
The MTA says Tuesday there were a record number of riders on the Metro-North Rail Road in 2015. It says more than 86 million people rode on the commuter rail system that connects New York City, its northern suburbs and Connecticut. That's a 1.6 percent increase in ridership over 2014.
Officials say there was also an increase of riders on the Long Island Rail Road, the nation's largest commuter rail system. The MTA says the LIRR saw the highest number of riders since 1949 with a total of 87.6 million commuters last year and a 2.1 percent increase over the prior year.
The LIRR total breaks the modern record set in 2008, when the railroad carried 87.4 million customers.
“When ridership set records back in 2008, many said it was because of high gasoline prices, and that certainly is one factor,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast. “But gas prices have sunk to low levels and the trend is continuing.
"We are seeing the confluence a strengthening regional economy, healthier downtowns around the region, a new generation of millennials who values public transportation, and greater productivity on board our trains through the proliferation of smartphones, tablets and laptos," he said.
He said customers are also responding to improvements like more frequent trains, on-time performance, a fleet of modern new electric cars and more real-time information.
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Ridership could grow even further in the years ahead through the MTA's 2015-2019 capital program, which will fund the construction of four new Metro-North stations in the Bronx and the expansion of Metro-North's New Haven line to Penn Station, a major expansion of the LIRR's Main Line between Floral Park and Hicksville, and the construction of new LIRR stations in Elmhurst and Sunnyside in Queens.
