The recession is taking its toll on subway ridership, which has fallen every month this year, new MTA numbers reveal today.
The drop in ridership is linked to the steadily increasing unemployment figures in the City. Fewer people have jobs to commute to everyday.
The new MTA figures show that in April of this year, there was an average 3.6 percent decrease in the number of rides taken on weekdays, a drop of about 189,000 trips from April 2008, the New York Post reported.
There was also an average 90,000-ride dropoff this April from the previous month, March.
As a result, the MTA took in $7.4 million less than expected in April. Total intake, including bus fares and tolls, is under budget by $6.6 million this year.
The ridership drop comes ahead of another planned fare hike this summer to deal with a massive budget shortfall at the MTA.
