America's public transit systems are going to need a bailout, too

Washington, DC (CNN)Public transit systems across the country are struggling under the weight of the coronavirus pandemic. Revenue is plummeting as commuters nationwide stay home to prevent the spread of virus. "The stark reality is that, as more people stay home following the advice of medical experts, the MTA is now facing financial calamity," wrote Patrick Foye, the chairman of New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority, in a letter last week. Ridership in New York City's -- the largest transit system in the North America -- has fallen 74% on subways, 61% on buses and 94% on its Metro-North commuter railway, according to an MTA spokeswoman.

And New York is hardly alone. Transit systems in San Francisco, Washington DC and Philadelphia have also reported dramatic declines in ridership and revenue. Paul Skoutelas, the president of the American Public Transportation Association, compared the impact of the global pandemic to the aftermath of 9/11. The big difference, he said, is that the financial impact of the coronavirus could last far longer.

Last week, the American Public Transportation Association called on Congress to provide $16 billion in emergency funding to transit agencies to help them deal with the fallout of the coronavirus. New York's MTA is seeking a quarter of that amount, $4 billion. Both the House and Senate have included funding for the transit systems in their proposed stimulus packages. "We thank leaders on both sides of the aisle and the Trump Administration and strongly urge them to swiftly approve the highest possible funding level for public transit and distribute these funds to transit systems as quickly as possible," said Skoutelas.

A survey by the nonprofit industry group found that some transit agencies are seeing ridership declines that surpass 80% -- and this was before many states declared that all nonessential workers must stay home. Systems in San Francisco, Washington, DC, and Philadelphia have already cut back services. With a nearly 88% decline in week-over-week ridership, BART, which services the San Francisco Bay Area, will start shutting down three hours earlier at 9 p. m.

The decline in fare revenue comes as agencies need to spend more time and money cleaning their trains and buses to limit the spread of the coronavirus. And many systems still must keep trains and buses running in order to transport the country's critical health care workers and first responders. "The numbers are sobering in terms of the magnitude of what our agencies and the industry is confronted with," Skoutelas told CNN Business. "If anything, we're probably conservative here [about how much federal assistance the systems need] because no one really knows how long we'll be in this kind of state.