Ridership on the Long Island Rail Road returned to March 2020 levels on Wednesday, and ridership on Metro-North set a record for a COVID-19 pandemic day, the MTA said.

Ridership on the Long Island Rail Road surpassed 200,000 for the first time since March 2020, according to the MTA, and Metro-North ridership was a little more than 179,000, beating out the previous COVID-19 pandemic record of 174,900 on June 28.

“I am proud to announce this new ridership milestone as we welcome New Yorkers back to school and work this week,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement. “Public transportation is the lifeblood of New York City, and we look forward to building on this progress as we continue working to return to pre-pandemic ridership levels.”

The MTA credited discounts on monthly and 20-trip tickets for contributing to the increased usage of commuter rails, as well as the $5 “City Ticket” that New Yorkers can use on Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road trains within the five boroughs.

Weekday ridership for commuter trains lagged below 2019 levels as recently as June, according to a July report from the state comptroller. June 2022 weekday commuter totals were just 61% of June 2019’s ridership for Metro-North and 63% for Long Island Rail Road, the report showed.

But weekend ridership in June hit 94% and 101% of June 2019 levels for Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road, respectively.

Subway and bus transit also saw more riders compared to “a comparable day” in 2021, the governor’s statement said. Over 3.4 million people rode the subway Wednesday, a nearly 10% increase over last week’s numbers and a 36.1% increase compared to last year. Bus ridership was over 1.3 million, but the governor’s office said they expect those totals to increase by “approximately 15 percent when the rider count is complete.”

On Wednesday, the MTA announced that subway and bus usage on the Tuesday after Labor Day was up nearly 26% compared to the same day in 2021 and over 62% compared to 2020. Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road commuter totals also showed 38.3% and 44.5% increases compared to the Tuesday after Labor Day in 2021 and more than doubled 2020 totals.

“All MTA agencies saw a post-Labor Day increase in ridership compared to last year, showing that as people are returning to school and to work, they are taking mass transit to get there,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber in a statement. “Whether these riders are returning part-time or full-time, we look forward to welcoming back even more New Yorkers.”​