Nearly one in ten subway riders still not wearing masks, MTA says

Almost one in 10 straphangers is not wearing a face mask on the subway, according to new data from the MTA.

Out of 47,599 riders counted by transit pollsters between May 28 and June 4 at 23 different stations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, 43,709 were wearing masks — or 92 percent, transit officials said as the city began its “Phase 1” reopening.

The MTA began requiring masks on buses and trains in mid-April.

Enforcement falls on the NYPD, though the MTA has said it does not want violators to be summonsed or arrested.

Hofstra University public health professor Dr. Anthony Santella said 92 percent mask compliance was “pretty good,” but may decline as the summer wears on.

Santella said health and transit officials must monitor compliance along with the impact of increased ridership on the spread of the disease.

“One thing I’m concerned about is message fatigue. We’ve been hearing these things for about 100 days. People are tired of it,” he said.

“I would have guessed over 90 percent compliance in the early days, but let’s look at that number a month from now, two months from now.”

New York City’s subways and buses return to “regular service” this week, though four-hour overnight closures in place since May 6 will continue indefinitely.

Interim Transit President Sarah Feinberg said the agency expects around 300,000 people to return to transit on Monday. Ridership has been hovering around 700,000 each on buses and subways for the last few weeks.