Metro-North rail officials say ridership on the New Haven Line dropped 4 percent in 2009 as the recession took a toll on white-collar jobs in Manhattan.
Rides on the New Haven Line declined to 36.3 million from 37.8 million in 2008, but officials say the December figures were encouraging because they show the losses appearing to level off.
Bob MacLagger, Metro-North’s vice president of operations and planning, says ridership losses fell more slowly in December. He says it appears job cuts are slowing, and Metro-North is hoping that ridership growth will return.
Labor officials say New York City’s financial services sector lost 26,000 jobs from December 2008 to December 2009, while 24,000 jobs were cut during the same period in the business and professional services sectors. (AP)
