NEW YORK, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- A more reliable New York City subway system, new subway cars and other rail upgrades helped add some 23 million new riders in 2005.
New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority officials said that in 2005, despite a fare hike, a record 1.45 billion people road the subway, the New York Daily News reported Saturday.
The record ridership "is an indication of the strong commitment we at the MTA have made to provide our riders with the finest mass transportation network in the country," MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow said in a statement.
Since the 1980s, the MTA has spent about $48 billion for high-tech subway cars, track replacement, station renovations and other upgrades.
"Twenty-five years ago, your trains broke down all the time, they were covered in graffiti and you had no incentive to use transit," said Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign.
