PATH ridership reaches new highs

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that the PATH system in June carried its highest ridership levels in years, buoyed by an unprecedented run of major regional events throughout the month of June. The new ridership highs came just weeks after PATH rolled out its biggest weekend service expansion in a generation. PATH’s total June 2026 ridership of 5.9 million jumped 14 percent compared to June 2025’s total of 5.1 million passengers. It was the busiest month for the system since March 2020. In addition to moving nearly 6 million riders throughout June, PATH also set a new all-time record high for weekend ridership.

On June 18, the day of the New York Knicks’ championship parade in lower Manhattan, PATH moved over 250,000 passengers as one of its busiest days since 2020.

Through the first half of the year, PATH carried 31.4 million passengers, which was a 7.5 percent jump over the first half of 2025. PATH began to implement service enhancements in mid-March 2026, with the most significant service increases starting in mid-May.

“June was a proof point for what PATH means to this region, whether it's getting fans to a championship parade, delivering World Cup visitors to watch parties, or connecting friends and families on the weekends,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “Seeing ridership at levels we haven't touched since before the pandemic tells us riders are choosing PATH, and we intend to keep earning that trust every day.”

“While riders see more frequent trains and fewer delays, we see the results of years of concentrated effort and focused investment,” said Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia. “These extraordinary numbers show that when we build a better system and run more service, riders are more than ready to respond to it, especially when the region has an unprecedented run of major events that bring everyone together.”

“Covid sent PATH down a difficult road to recovery, but the June ridership numbers are clear indication that our customers are back, in numbers not seen in very long time,” said PATH Director/General Manager Clarelle DeGraffe. “We never deviated from our commitment to rebuilding the system for greater reliability, access and frequency of service.”

Weekend ridership in June also shattered previous records. The ridership surge arrived just after substantial service increases went into effect on May 17 that returned service to all four PATH lines on weekends for the first time in more than two decades, with direct Hoboken–World Trade Center weekend service restored and Journal Square–33 St and Hoboken–33 St trains running every 10 minutes between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m.

Average Saturday ridership climbed to 144,391 riders and average Sunday ridership reached 114,146, both the highest levels recorded for any month since PATH began tracking the metric, and both more than 25 percent above their June 2019 and June 2025 levels.

Strong demand for reliable weekend travel was particularly critical to move riders attending major cultural events around the region. Though PATH did not directly serve New York New Jersey Stadium, on Saturday, June 13, and Saturday, June 27, PATH carried 23 percent and 6 percent more riders, respectively, than a comparable non-match Saturday in June 2026. Over the course of all eight World Cup matches at New York New Jersey Stadium throughout June and July, PATH cross-honored over 30,000 diverted NJ TRANSIT rail customers who were affected by matchday-related service changes in order to help them reach their intended destination.

On weekdays, the region appeared to heed guidance to avoid unnecessary travel on matchdays that fell during the workweek. On weekdays when a World Cup match was held at New York New Jersey Stadium, ridership fell between 4 and 9 percent below comparable June 2026 weekdays.

The single highest-ridership day of the month, 252,272 riders, came on Thursday, June 18, as fans packed PATH trains for the New York Knicks championship parade. The total was about 30,000 more than the average June 2026 weekday. PATH moved an average of 222,812 weekday passengers throughout June, the highest weekday average for any month since March 2020.

The demand for mass transit remained high through June to the Fourth of July holiday, when preliminary data showed PATH served 145,277 riders. It would be the busiest July 4 on record for the system, up 33 percent from July 4, 2025, when the system carried 109,160 passengers.

This ridership growth follows years of concentrated investment to rehabilitate the system's aging infrastructure. The two-year, $430 million PATH Forward program facilitated comprehensive track repair and replacement, modernization of bridges, railcars and other critical infrastructure, and the rehabilitation of four major stations: Hoboken, Grove St, Newport, and Exchange Pl.

Additional service enhancements are planned for spring 2027, including increased weekend service on the Newark-World Trade Center and Hoboken-World Trade Center lines from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with trains running every 10-15 minutes. Additionally, Newark-World Trade Center line frequency will improve to every 4 minutes during morning and evening rush hours, a 25 percent service increase that will deliver 15 trains per hour.