"Ridership has dropped off steeply because of the virus, but advocates say the industry’s survival is crucial to fighting climate change."
"As the U.S. government signals its willingness to come to the aid of airline and cruise industries wounded by the novel coronavirus, another transportation sector is desperate to signal its distress to federal lawmakers. And the case for support rests, in part, on climate change.
Mass-transit systems across the country are taking a violent financial hit from Covid-19. That’s because these systems are largely dependent on fees from riders which are, of course, way down. New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority, the nation’s largest public transit system, reports that ridership fell 60% on subways and as much as 90% on commuter trains. Washington, D.C. says its mass transit lost 100,000 riders in the course of a week. In San Francisco, rail ridership on Bay Area Rapid Transit was also down 90% as of Tuesday.
Protecting mass transit is important in the short run to keep essential industries such as health care up and running. But to advocates, bailing out mass transit also makes sense for the long term. “Transit is essential to combating climate change and transitioning to net-zero [emissions],” says Scott Goldstein, policy director for the grassroots advocacy group Transportation for America. “And if we do not support them today in crisis, they will not be there for us in the future.”"
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