Sunday, March 29th, 2020

A little over 11% of Hudson Valley households are vehicle-less. Households without a car may be reliant on public transportation as a primary means to reach important destinations such as work, health care services, or grocery stores. Given this fact, it is important to look at what is happening to public transportation during the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Around the country, public transportation providers are facing challenges to providing safe and reliable service due to the COVID-19. These are some of the general challenges:

• How to make public buses or trains safe for passengers and operators
• Employees who are not able to come to work due to personal circumstances related to the virus such as children home from school or health concerns
• Executive orders to reduce staff
• Reduction in fare revenues due to lower levels of ridership

Some best practices to follow during the threat of an outbreak include:
• More frequent cleaning and disinfecting
• Public announcements and information about safe practices
• Providing employees with masks and gloves
• Avoid service cuts that result in crowed buses or trains
• Encourage riders to use off peak service for less crowded buses and trains
• Increase service during peak hours
• Suspending the collection of cash fares
• Rear door entry and exit

The current status of public transportation in the Hudson Valley varies by county. At the time of the writing of this post, Putnam County had suspended service and Dutchess County, Greene County, and Ulster County had made service cuts. Ulster County has experienced a driver shortage and so has had to temporarily cancel certain routes. Dutchess County has established a special on demand service for senior citizens, those with disabilities, and veterans who do not have access to the routes with services. Greene County Transit is only offering service by appointment until further notice. Westchester has mandated rear door boarding on all Bee-Line fixed bus routes and is not currently collecting fares on this service. The other four counties in our region: Columbia, Orange, Rockland, and Sullivan, had not yet cut any service according to county websites. Metro North has reduced service to an essential service schedule, has closed all ticket offices, and as a precaution is not accepting cash fares on the train. As the situation is rapidly evolving, there may be new service changes to date.

To understand the challenges faced by Hudson Valley county transit agencies during this time, Pattern reached out to Michael Grattini, the Transit Administrator for Dutchess County on March 20th.

Ridership in Dutchess County has plummeted in response to the COVID-19 threat. Grattini stated that the challenge to reducing service is to do so in a way that is not disruptive for those who rely on it. Grattini said that ridership patterns will change as major employment and shopping destinations close, such as the Poughkeepsie Galleria, but these changes are difficult to predict. He cautioned that reducing service could result in buses that are more crowded. Currently, due to low ridership, people on the bus are able to maintain safe social distancing. As a precaution, Dutchess County Public Transit has ramped up the cleaning protocols on all buses. Low ridership has compromised fare intake, an important source of revenue, but this is not the major concern for the agency – their main goal is to continue providing service for those who need it.

Westchester County has the greatest percentage of households that do not own a vehicle and the largest public transportation system in our region. Pattern spoke with Naomi Klein, the Director of Transportation Planning for Westchester County. Klein stated that ridership on the county’s public buses had dropped substantially in recent days. Yet, as of March 20th, even at 50% of usual weekday ridership, the county still serves about 50,000 people a day. The county is hoping to avoid service cuts, is taking all recommended precautions, and will respond to the situation as necessary. Klein said this situation is forcing those who provide public transportation to consider how these systems can be more flexible and responsive to challenging situations, like that of a pandemic.

In nearby New York City, which has the most robust public transportation system in the country, ridership is down 87 percent (nytimes.com). MTA is facing a major loss in fare revenues and will need a $4 billion bailout. On Wednesday March 25th, the agency cut service by 25 percent. As of Friday this last week, MTA continued to run essential service but, according to the MTA website, “We’re operating with fewer crews, which might change your trip.”

The $2 trillion COVID-19 economic stabilization plan passed on Thursday March 26th includes $25 billion for transit agencies to help sustain operations and expenses, with $3.8 billion for MTA (silive.com). Thirty-six percent of transit riders work in essential industries (smartgrowthamerica.org) such as healthcare and the like. The federal relief dollars will help ensure they can continue to do their important work during this challenging time.

For the most up-to-date services changes in our region, visit the following websites:
• Columbia County: https://www.columbiacountyny.com/public-transportation.html
• Dutchess County: https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/Public-Transit/Public-Transit.htm
• Greene County: https://www.greenecountytransit.com/
• Orange County: http://www.transitorange.info/bus-services/
• Putnam County: https://www.putnamcountyny.com/transportation/
• Rockland County: http://rocklandgov.com/departments/public-transportation/transport-of-rockland/
• Sullivan County: http://sullivanny.us/Departments/Transportation
• Ulster County: https://ulstercountyny.gov/ucat/ulster-county-area-transit
• Westchester County: https://transportation.westchestergov.com/


Written by Kate Stryker
Research Planner, Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress