By Hadassa Kalatizadeh
The pandemic has devastated New York City’s subway system. North America’s largest public transit agency, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, is now experiencing its worst financial crisis ever. Last Spring, at the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic, when everything except the essentials were shuttered, public transportation was open but ridership was down to an all-time low of 7 percent. As reported by the NY Times, today, more than a year later, subway ridership is still at only one third of its regular levels.
The MTA, which operates the subway, buses and two commuter rail lines, is still afloat only thanks to billions of dollars in aid from the federal government. President Joe Biden took it a step further, recently adding another $6 billion in aid for the agency.
As per the Times, however, it will take more than money to save the MTA in the long run. What they need now are riders. Close to 40 percent of the agency’s operating revenue stems from fares collected, a higher percentage than most other major transit systems in the country. Despite the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination, and despite efforts to open more businesses, there seems to be a creeping revelation that ridership may never completely return to pre-pandemic levels.
Before the pandemic hit, some eight million people in New York, or roughly 50 percent of the city’s population, rode public transit every weekday. Though public health experts have said that riding trains and buses do not a pose a heightened risk for exposure to COVID-19, some former subway and bus commuters are still opting to commute via cars or bikes, even post-pandemic.
The agency may need to reshape its business and reduce service to mirror new patterns in commuting. For riders who remain loyal, this could mean longer waits and higher fares, as well as less service on suburban-bound trains. The agency has already cut back service on the Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road, where ridership has plateaued at roughly a quarter of pre-pandemic levels, as many people continue to work from home. The option of working remotely may even become a viable option moving forward, even as the pandemic abates, as some firms shift workplace rubrics. “Commuter culture is going to change,” said Kathryn Wylde, President of the Partnership for New York City, an influential business group. “People are looking for more flexibility and more options, which improves their quality of life. That’s definitely a legacy of the pandemic.”
