The Madrid Metro’s ridership is higher now than it was before the pandemic.
Photographer: Rudy Sulgan/The Image Bank RF via Getty Images
Where Public Transit Systems Are Bouncing Back Around the World
Across the US and Latin America, subways still see lower ridership and financial pain. But a data analysis shows that passenger counts are higher than ever in some Europe and Asia cities.
Five years after the pandemic began, many US transit agencies are teetering over a “fiscal cliff” as rail ridership hovers at about 70% of its pre-Covid levels nationwide, straining agency budgets from lost fare revenue. To some, that might seem an inevitable post-pandemic side effect. But looking at transit data around the world confounds that narrative.
Subway ridership came booming back in many European and East Asian cities, while much of North and South America remains well below pre-pandemic levels, according to a Bloomberg analysis of 15 major transit systems on four continents.