Coronavirus: MBTA Metro Ridership Down Over 80 Percent

BOSTON — Ridership on the MBTA continued its collapse last week amid coronavirus concerns and state action to limit public gatherings. Ridership on the subway has dropped over 80 percent, according to General Manager Steve Poftak. Bus and commuter rail usage has also plummeted.

Speaking at a joint meeting of the MassDOT Board and the MBTA's Fiscal and Management Control Board, Poftak said ridership at gated subway stations dropped 83 percent as of March 19, relative to four weeks prior. Bus lines saw ridership fall over 70 percent.

Usage of commuter rail parking lots was just 7 percent of a typical weekday, Poftak said.

Drops are likely to continue as Gov. Baker's stay-at-home advisory goes into effect Tuesday.

All MBTA lines are running on reduced schedules, Poftak noted, and the agency encourages riders to make only essential trips. However, the agency intends to keep serving "durable ridership."

The agency has made a number of changes to slow the spread of the new virus, including allowing rear boarding on buses and granting advanced sick leave to employees.

Some lines will see more service in order to get healthcare employees into the city before 7 a.m. for shift changes, or to reduce crowding. The Haverhill, Fitchburg, Lowell, Needham and Newburyport/Rockport lines will all see additional early service, Poftak said.

The full meeting is available here from the MBTA.

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Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.