New York, Oct 29 (IANS): The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a corporation responsible for the public transportation in the US state of New York, is in dire need of a $12 billion bailout from the federal government due to a decreased ridership in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a report on Wednesday, The Riders Alliance, a grassroots movement for public transit, quoted New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli as saying that the MTA is facing its biggest budget crisis in history, reports Xinhua news agency.

The system's debt has reached $45 billion and would have to cut its subway and other public transportation services by 40 per cent, and the railway services by 50 percent, if without enough financial help, according to the MTA.

As a result of the downsize, certain groups in New York City would be disproportionately affected.

For example, The Riders Alliance report said, health care workers have nearly an-hour commute each day, and average New Yorkers could face an additional 15-minute wait time for subways and 30 minutes for buses commuting just one way.

The Riders Alliance's Policy and Communications Director Danny Pearlstein said the impact of MTA budget cuts would be felt far beyond New York City and into the suburbs.

The MTA is the largest public transit authority in the US, serving 12 counties in Downstate New York, along with two counties in southwestern Connecticut under contract to the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

Prior to the Cpandemic, it carried over 11 million passengers on a daily week-day average, and over 850,000 vehicles on its seven toll bridges and two tunnels per day.