The target, and what was budgeted for, is a return to 80 percent ridership, she said. The new peak fare packages were decided and voted on before the omicron wave, Meyers said. The 20-trip ticket can be used by more than one person, even when traveling together. The new packages include a 10 percent discount on monthly Metro-North passes and a 20-trip ticket that amounts to 20 percent off regular peak fares, according to the MTA statement. On weekends, we were increasing steadily and doing very well in relation to our projections and then omicron hit, and we have not recovered,” she said. “On weekends, it’s a little bit higher in mid 50s (percent). Ridership remains at about 40 percent of what it was before the outbreak of COVID-19, but the outbreak of the omicron variant at the start of 2022 created another setback for MTA ridership, Meyer said.

“The MTA board decided on pilot packages and looked at commuting patterns, what customers were asking for, as well as ways to get ridership wherever and however we could,” she said. However, the peak rates will not increase to costs higher than the pre-COVID rates, rather they will go back to what they had benn, Meyer said. The new peak packages were first developed in the fall and will begin piloting Tuesday, coinciding with the return to peak fares. “Our monthly passes plummeted significantly, and we’re starting to pilot new peak packages and had to find the funding from somewhere.” “We really looked at our ridership and saw that we needed to do, in terms of bringing back more monthly riders and more riders that use that hybrid work schedules,” she said. The return to peak prices was driven in part by the rollout of new fare packages, Meyer said. Now, it’s time to regain some normalcy, MTA Chief Customer Officer Sarah Meyer said.

Over the last two years, peak fares were lowered to off-peak rates due to the economic hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the MTA said.

Beginning Tuesday, the peak fare costs will also return to pre-COVID rates, according to an MTA statement.

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