The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey recently announced that PATH ridership in June reached its highest ever monthly total, with approximately 7 million people entering the turnstiles system-wide, a 3.6 percent increase over last year. Average weekday ridership also reached its highest ever monthly total, with 277,946 riders, a 4.1-percent increase from June 2015.
For the first six months of 2016, total system-wide ridership is 5.5 percent higher than last year, with average weekday ridership increasing by 5.4 percent and average Saturday ridership increasing by 2.2 percent.
PATH officials attributed the record-setting increases to several factors, including continued economic growth, an improving regional employment picture and a higher number of tourists and sightseers. The numbers come as PATH is working to improve safety and increase capacity throughout the system.
“As the traveling public increases its reliance on PATH, we renew our commitment to providing service that maintains the highest levels of safety and efficiency,” said PATH Director/General Manager Michael Marino.
As part of a comprehensive, federally mandated safety initiative to install a new computerized signal system for better passenger service and safety, weekend PATH service on the 33rd Street line in Manhattan will be suspended starting August 6, 2016. Positive Train Contro (PTC), which the government has mandated be installed by the end of 2018, will be installed.