NYC Subway Ridership, by Sha Hwang (via sarahcooley)
It’s fascinating to see that ridership in 2009 is actually less than the peak year of 1946. I can’t imagine what the L line was like back then, since it’s horribly crowded now. I always make the assumption that today is more crowded than it was yesterday and so on, but that’s not the case.
Also, what happened in 1950 that caused ridership to fall so steeply? We know why ridership in the 70s and 80s was so bad (crime and deteriorating infrastructure), but I’m curious what caused such a noticeable drop in ridership starting just after the peak in the 1940s.
