A riding hydraulically driven aerator is disclosed herein. The aerator includes a frame, an engine, one or more hydraulic pumps, one or more drive wheels, and one or more tine assemblies. The one or more tine assemblies may be driven by one or more hydraulic tine motors. The one or more hydraulic tine motors may be directly coupled to the one or more tine assemblies. In various embodiments, the one or more drive wheels are driven by one or more hydraulic wheel motors. The one or more hydraulic tine motors and the one or more hydraulic wheel motors may be driven in series by the one or more hydraulic pumps.