Part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the busiest and largest transit system in North America,[4] the NYCTA has a daily ridership of 8 million trips (over 2.5 billion annually).

[5] The NYCTA operates the following systems: As part of establishing a common corporate identity, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1994 assigned popular names to each of its subsidiaries and affiliates.

The Transit Authority has its own management structure which is responsible for its day-to-day operations, with executive personnel reporting to the agency president.

[8][9] Sarah Feinberg and Craig Cipriano served as interim presidents until May 2, 2022, when Richard Davey was hired to assume the role on a permanent basis.

[14] During World War II, the New York City Transit System showed an operating surplus on the five-cent fare, because gasoline was rationed and auto riders had to abandon their cars for subway and bus travel.

Operating deficits continued to add up and public dissatisfaction with the transit system grew, as equipment was deteriorating, and train schedules being difficult to abide by.

[13][17][20] At this time, the city government leased the IRT, BMT, and IND subway lines and the surface system (buses and, until 1956 street cars).

[13] In July 1953, the NYCTA proposed spending $1,065,000,000 over six years, expanding the city's subway system through new lines and connections between the IND and BMT Divisions.

In April 1955, laws were passed by the New York State legislature to change the NYCTA into a three-member salaried panel to become in effect on July 1, 1955.

[13] One major problem that the NYCTA inherited from the Board of Transportation was the age of the subway cars from the IRT and BMT.

These cars were introduced with automatic thermostats and dampers to control the heat and ventilation systems based on the air temperature outside.

[21] Historically, the TA's capital requirements were met by the city and state jointly, but this support was withdrawn, primarily by Governor Rockefeller, in the 1960s.

In 1965, mayoral candidate John Lindsay pledged to use the toll revenues from the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) to offset the NYCTA's deficits.

In January 1966, New York State, with the help of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, purchased the Long Island Rail Road from its corporate parent, the Pennsylvania Railroad, and it became part of the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority (MCTA).

The day prior to the election, two brand new R40 cars were displayed on the IND Sixth Avenue Line at Herald Square.

[13] In 2017, New York governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for the MTA due to various incidents involving the NYCTA's subway and bus systems.

[25] Beginning March 25, 2020, service on buses and subways was reduced due to decreased ridership during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.

[26][27] In late March, NYCTA interim president Sarah Feinberg stated that a shutdown "feels misguided to me" and was "not on the table".

[29] Also that April, Feinberg called the MTA "the most aggressive transit agency in the country in acting quickly and decisively to protect our workforce".

[34][35] Employees of the New York City Transit Authority assigned to the New York City Subway and in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx are members of the Transport Workers Union of America Local 100, with Queens and Staten Island bus personnel represented by various Amalgamated Transit Union locals.

It gave TWU exclusive collective bargaining rights for all hourly workers for the NYCTA, except for those in the Queens and Staten Island Bus Divisions, which remained a part of the Amalgamated Association of Street Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employees of America, which became the Amalgamated Transit Union in 1964.

After looking at the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers as their model, NYCTA motorman formed their own union in 1954, a Motormen's Benevolent Association (MBA) to further their interests.

A request for a separate election was denied, and as a result the motormen wanted to show their power and to acquire their own representation.

This time, the Union chose to pursue the arbitration process provided by the Taylor Law rather than strike in support of its demands.

On December 11, 2009, State Supreme Court Justice Peter Sherwood issued a decision upholding the arbitration award in all respects.

In December 2006, MTA New York City Transit launched TripPlanner, its online travel itinerary service.

This service allows users with mobile access to the web to obtain travel itineraries while away from a desk or laptop computer.

was made applicable for cellular phone, PDA, or Blackberry users, and offered the same three-option travel directions along with real-time service alerts.

The following month, Trip Planner launched as a widget application, allowing users to add it to their personalized homepage, blog, or website.

[47] On October 23, 2017, it was announced that the MetroCard would be phased out and replaced by OMNY, a contactless fare payment system also made by Cubic, with fare payment being made using Apple Pay, Google Pay, debit/credit cards with near-field communication technology, or radio-frequency identification cards.