Did you hear honking at 3 p.m. on Thursday? It was a coordinated way of honoring transit workers.

Transit agencies around New York and New Jersey blasted their horns at 3 p.m. Thursday as a way of showing appreciation for essential workers around the nation.
The mass-transit industry is experiencing economic hardship as ridership drops amid the coronavirus pandemic. Amtrak saw ridership plummet 90%.
At least 59 MTA workers have reportedly died from COVID-19 as of April 13.
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If you live in New York City, you're probably used to the 7 p.m. wave of sound emanating from rooftops, windows, and streets, as New Yorkers come together at a distance to celebrate and thank health care workers fighting on the front lines against the coronavirus.

But Thursday at 3 p.m., you might have heard a different burst of noise: honking.

Amtrak, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, NJ TRANSIT, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and other bus and ferry operators around the region orchestrated a tribute to essential workers, particularly transit workers, who ensure first responders, healthcare workers, grocery store employees, and other essential workers have the means to travel.

These transit agencies honored each other and workers around the nation by giving two, one-second horn blasts Thursday at 3 p.m. as a part of #SoundTheHorn Campaign.

"Our region's frontline transit employees deserve all the thanks and recognition we can give them right now," NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin Corbett said when announcing the plan. "This effort is a small yet powerful way for us to show our appreciation for the brave, selfless transit workers who continue to show up every day, under some of the most challenging conditions any of us have ever seen."

Mass transit systems have been hit hard financially as people stay indoors. Amtrak has seen a 90% drop in ridership, and is set to receive $1 billion from the government's coronavirus stimulus package.

Read more : Tests that can tell if you're immune to the coronavirus are on the way. Here are the companies racing to bring them to the US healthcare system. But the losses are more than just economic. At least 59 MTA workers died from COVID-19 as of Monday, according to a report by Politico . Nearly 4,400 trains, buses, and ferries were in service Thursday afternoon to participate in the horn honking, according to the media release. NOW WATCH: Why electric planes haven't taken off yet See Also: People are slamming Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for appearing to suggest the $1,200 coronavirus stimulus payments could last people 10 weeks Tesla is reportedly trying to save on rent amid widespread coronavirus closures by renegotiating its leases The FAA is telling pilots not to fly if they take the controversial malaria pill Trump pushed as a treatment for the coronavirus SEE ALSO: Watch people in cities around the world cheer from their windows and rooftops at the same time to thank healthcare workers and first responders