The New York City subway’s unlimited-ride MetroCard turned 10 this month, a milestone that has helped usher in a boom in mass transit ridership, according to a report in the New York Times.

The report said when it was introduced in the early 1990s, the MetroCard was little more than a substitute token. It was not until free MetroCard transfers between subways and buses were instituted in 1997 and the unlimited-ride cards were introduced July 4, 1998, that the passes fully realized their power to transform the transit system.

In the first month they were available, the unlimited cards accounted for 18 percent of all subway and bus trips, said Lawrence R. Hirsch, who heads the office that forecasts and tracks ridership and fare revenues for New York City Transit. By the end of 1998 the unlimited cards were being used for about a quarter of all trips. By 2003 they accounted for about half. They remain at that level today. Most of those who use unlimited cards buy 7-day or 30-day passes; a smaller number buy 1-day or 14-day passes.

At the same time, ridership has swelled. Last year, the average weekday subway and bus ridership was 7.4 million, up from 5.3 million in 1996, an increase of 40 percent. Average weekend ridership, which includes both Saturday and Sunday, rose to 7.7 million last year, from 4.6 million in 1996, an increase of almost 70 percent.

(Sources: NY Times / Star Ledger)