NYC daily subway ridership falls by nearly 1 million amid coronavirus crisis

Subway ridership has plummeted amid the coronavirus pandemic — making it easier to find a seat, but also imperiling the cash-strapped MTA’s finances.

Ridership on the subway was down 18.5% Wednesday, said agency spokesman Tim Minton. That amounts to a daily drop of about 1 million riders compared to March 2019, when the subways handled about 5.39 million rides per day.

The data shows New Yorkers are heeding advice from top officials like Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio, who earlier this week urged people to avoid the subways if possible to help contain the spread of the contagious disease.

MTA buses also took a hit on Wednesday by 15%, Minton said. That amounts to a daily drop of about 268,000 riders. On a typical March weekday last year, buses carried about 1.78 million riders.

Vehicle traffic on the MTA’s bridges and tunnels was down by 7%.

MTA data also shows the commuter rails took a big hit during rush hour Thursday morning, a day after President Trump announced a 30-day ban on travelers from Europe outside the United Kingdom.

Morning ridership on Metro-North railroad was down 48% on Thursday from a typical weekday last March. Long Island Rail Road ridership was down 31%.

It’s not yet clear what impact the ridership drop will have on the MTA’s fragile finances. Rider fares and driver tolls account for just over half of the agency’s revenue.

MTA officials have said they have “contingency plans for contingency plans” as the coronavirus outbreak worsens — but have asserted that they are not considering shutting down the city’s transit systems.

“We expect those declines to continue as mass gatherings are barred and major companies and universities move to telecommuting,” said MTA spokeswoman Abbey Collins. “We continue to run regular service.”

But if enough rank-and-file transit workers take ill or are required to self-quarantine, transit officials may have no choice but to cut or suspend service.

“We don’t have any confirmed cases with NYC Transit employees, but we’re a population segment just like anyone else. It’s a matter of time before someone catches it,” said Eric Loegel, vice president of rail transit operations at Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents nearly 40,000 MTA workers.

“Let’s say somebody works the F line out of Jamaica on a train and they get sick and it’s confirmed that person has the virus. Everybody else who works on that line and came into contact with them is going to have to be quarantined. If it continues at this rate we could see shutdowns of subway service.”