After three long years largely dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, 2023’s transit headlines can be described as something of a return to normal: budget fights, fare hikes, drama over proposals new and old, and of course, good old-fashioned complaining. Mostly without face masks.
Stand clear of the closing doors as we go on a journey through 2023’s biggest transit stories.
Financial uncertainty and fare hikes
Subway and bus ridership continued to creep back up in 2023, but still remain well below levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. That posed an existential crisis for the MTA at the start of this year, which projected dire financial straits in the coming years as federal COVID relief money dried up, potentially forcing massive fare hikes, service cuts, and layoffs.
