How one Brooklyn man won a month of free transit rides from the MTA
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) – One man from Brooklyn got more than a free ride, he got a month's worth.
Prospect Heights resident, Sir Michael Carrasquillo, was dubbed the one billionth subway rider in New York City on Monday. On top of the new title, Carrasquillo was awarded four weeks of unlimited transit rides.
A train subway service to be suspended for 4 months: What to know
Carrasquillo says he got the surprise when he was coming down the escalator at the Atlantic Ave–Barclays Ctr Station. As he tapped into the subway system around 1:45 p.m., transit leaders congratulated him for being the one billionth rider.
"Riding the MTA almost every day really, really impacts my life and everybody else's life. We just really appreciate everything that the MTA is doing to make everyone's life that much more convenient and that much more better," Carrasquillo said during a press conference.
More Local News
The Brooklyn resident said he was on his way to pick up his car from another location so that he could take a friend to a doctor's appointment.
October marked the busiest for the MTA since the pandemic, with nearly 114 million subway rides and over 40 million bus rides. It also came after the system's busiest Sunday since the pandemic with more than 2.6 million riders during the New York City Marathon.
Last year's one billionth rider was Brian Jones from Teaneck, New Jersey who tapped into the 175th Street Station on Nov. 15.
Dominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here .
