Maven Commuter Challenge: Analyzing the Post-Pandemic Recovery of MTA's Transportation Modes

Foreword

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which operates the largest public transit system in the United States, is a public benefit corporation serving the New York City metropolitan area, including parts of New York State and Connecticut. The dashboard provides a clear overview of post-pandemic ridership recovery trends across the MTA's seven transportation modes: Access-A-Ride, Bridges & Tunnels, Buses, Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), Metro-North, Staten Island Railway, and Subway systems.

The KPIs provide a month-by-month comparison of pre- and post-pandemic commuter trends for various transportation modes. Additionally, they highlight the overall commuter for each mode post-pandemic, including the all-time growth, peak, and low points. This data helps identify which modes have fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. As of October 2024, Access-A-Ride has surpassed its pre-pandemic ridership, while MTA Bridges & Tunnels have reached pre-pandemic levels since 2023. The remaining modes, including Buses, LIRR, Metro-North, Staten Island Railway, and Subways, are still in the recovery phase.

Average Weekly Commuter Trends Across Different Transportation Modes

By clicking on the KPI icons, we can delve into the annual trends for each transportation mode. While Buses and the Staten Island Railway have experienced significant declines in ridership, losing over 50% of pre-pandemic levels, Bridges & Tunnels have fully recovered. Access-A-Ride has even surpassed pre-pandemic levels, possibly due to increased reliance on specialized transportation services, particularly among vulnerable populations. The overall decline in commuter traffic can be attributed to factors such as the rise of remote work and changing work patterns.

Impact of the Pandemic on MTA Commuters

Since COVID-19 restrictions were implemented on March 2021, the traffic among MTA transportation services dropped significantly. Bridges & Tunnels lost nearly 50% of traffic and most transportation services lose 80-90% of their pre-pandemic volumes.

Recovery Rate

While Subways have the highest absolute increase in ridership, Metro-North has experienced the highest percentage recovery rate, nearly quadrupling its ridership by October 2024. In contrast, Bridges & Tunnels have shown the least impact from the pandemic, with their ridership remaining relatively stable.