Ridership on the Second Avenue Subway line has been lower than projected for its first month, officials said on Wednesday.
About 155,000 riders are taking the new line daily, slightly less than the MTA’s projections, Gov. Cuomo’s office said on Wednesday.
Ridership started out at about 130,000 riders per day when it first opened to the public on Jan. 1. The line gained about 8,000 riders a week, hitting 155,000 on Jan. 27.
The agency came to those figures by collecting turnstile numbers in the three new stations and in 63rd Street, as well as hand counting how many people exited via emergency gates at the new stations and analyzing how many people would have transferred from other lines, said MTA spokeswoman Beth DeFalco. Of the new stations, 72nd Kingbetting Street had the highest ridership with 51,450 passengers daily.
The MTA had said it hoped to attract 200,000 riders per weekday, but that likely won’t happen until later in the year, agency officials said on Wednesday.
Cuomo said he believes the number shows the line was desperately needed.
“The Second Avenue Subway has already become an integral part of the Upper East Side and these ridership figures show just how important this expansion project is to the neighborhood and our economy,” Governor Cuomo said.
The new line has also helped to ease overcrowding on the notoriously packed Lexington Avenue line, said officials, who said the morning rush hour on four Upper East Side 4, 5, and 6 stations has now decreased by an average of 46 percent.
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