New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced a record increase in subway customer satisfaction in the Fall 2025 Customers Count survey. 

The subway system saw increases across all key metrics, with 62% of subway riders reporting they feel satisfied with the system overall, which is a five-point increase from the Spring 2025 survey, and the highest percentage since the current Customers Count survey was launched in 2022.    

MTA’s Rising Customer Satisfaction

The questionnaire, which was offered online in nine languages and included a phone option, gauged satisfaction levels of 92,269 customers between October 14 and November 2, 2025. 

Now in its fifth year, the Customers Count survey allows the MTA to understand riders’ most significant concerns better and prioritize issues that need to be addressed across the MTA network, said officials.  

“Transit only truly works when our riders have confidence in every part of their journey — on trains, on platforms, and in stations,” said New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow. “The latest Customers Count survey results show that our infrastructure and safety investments are making a real difference in how New Yorkers experience the system. When customers feel secure, they ride more, and that keeps the city moving.” 

Customer safety is at a record high, with 63% reporting they feel safe on trains. This is a six-point increase from the Spring and the highest level reported since the survey began in 2022. 

Fifty-nine percent feel safe in stations, up from 54% in the Spring, while 53% of riders feel safe on subway platforms, a five-point increase from the Spring. This is also the first time platform safety was above 50% since the question was introduced in Spring 2023.     

Additionally, 65% of subway riders say they are satisfied with their train line, up four points from 61% in the Spring 2025 survey. 

The top-performing lines all improved from the previous survey: the 7 is at 73%, the G is at 72%, and the Q is at 72%. Satisfaction with service reliability is also up two points to 62%. Other metrics, including satisfaction with waiting time (59%) and frequency of delays (53%), also saw two-percentage-point increases from the Spring. Satisfaction with cleanliness on board trains substantially increased from the Spring 2025 survey, up to 59% from 52%.    

Overall subway satisfaction increased among subway customers in four boroughs, with 52% of Bronx customers satisfied, up from 46% in the Spring, and this is the first time Bronx customer satisfaction is over 50%. In Brooklyn, 63% of subway customers were satisfied, up from 57% in the Spring. Manhattan saw a five-point increase from the Spring, with 65% of subway customers satisfied. 59% of Queens customers were confident with the subway overall — a two-point increase from the Spring. Staten Island remained at 79%, consistent with levels reported in the Spring 2025 survey.

Building on Current Success

The survey results reflect record-breaking 2025 operational performance for the subway system. Subways hit six milestone months with historic on-time performance highs outside of COVID years, culminating in the best on-time performance year achieved since modern reliable record keeping began, with a weekday on-time performance of 83.7% — a 2.1 percentage increase from 2024. 

In May 2025, subway weekday OTP reached 85.2%, the best single month for performance in history, said agency officials.    

The on-time performance improvements come as the MTA explores new ways to use data to deliver better, more efficient service by adjusting schedules based on ridership patterns and other factors. This resulted not only in faster, more frequent service but also in 13,000 fewer delays in 2025 than in 2024. 

In addition, service was increased on several lines in 2025, including the A and L in November and the M in December, in conjunction with the F/M swap.    

The subway continues to see record increases in ridership growth, with nearly 1.3 billion rides taken in 2025 — up 7% from the previous year.

The subway also broke its post-pandemic single-day weekday and weekend ridership records on numerous occasions in 2025, most recently on Dec. 11 with 4.65 million customers. Notably, the MTA celebrated its one billionth subway rider of 2025 in mid-October — three weeks earlier than 2024 and nearly three months earlier than 2022.      

Success Across All Modes

Bus ridership satisfaction levels also saw year-over-year increases in the Fall 2025 survey, with 61% of Local, Limited, and Select Bus Service customers reporting satisfaction with overall service, an eight-point rise from Fall 2024. Satisfaction with Express bus service was 76%, a seven-point increase from the Fall 2024 edition. 

Additionally, satisfaction with service reliability, wait times, and frequency of delays improved since Fall 2024, with increases of at least nine points across all three measures. Staten Island bus riders also reported a five-point increase in satisfaction to 60%, while satisfaction levels for bus customers in Manhattan were at 69%. Customer satisfaction levels in Brooklyn and the Bronx  remained above 55%.  

The Fall 2025 Customers Count survey also found satisfaction levels remained high among commuter rail, compared to the Spring 2025 edition. 

Long Island Rail Road's overall satisfaction levels were at 80%, and notably, respondents’ satisfaction with the transfer experience was up two points to 69%. All branches have overall satisfaction scores above 70%, with most in the mid-70s or higher. Satisfaction with LIRR service reliability remained steady at 86%, as did on-time performance at 83%.  

Overall, Metro-North customer satisfaction also remained near record levels at 87%, with MTA officials saying an increased MTAPD presence in the Metro-North system continues to show results: 93% of riders report feeling safe from crime or harassment on board trains, and 87% of Metro-North customers report feeling safe inside stations, consistent with findings from the Spring 2025 survey.