Photo by T.D. Ford

Parks, pandas, students and the elderly—lots of people and places will be affected by the dramatic cut in federal spending that is expected to kick off this Friday. You can also add Metro to that list.

The Post reported late last week that our local transit agency is bracing for the impact of the impended sequestration, which could lead to furloughs and layoffs among government employees and contractors that take trains and buses to get around:

Given that 40 percent of Metro’s roughly 850,000 daily ridership trips are taken by federal employees, the transit agency’s coffers will be impacted if those workers and related contractors don’t go to work.

Metro takes in about $2 million a day in revenue.

Metro officials said sequestration could also put into question $12.5 million that’s part of a 10-year commitment of capital funds from the federal government and local jurisdictions. That $12 million goes to a range of things from buying new rail cars, replacing escalators and fixing platforms and track equipment.

Metro officials warn that any drops in revenue from either ridership or federal government promises of aid could affect a longstanding plan to address reliability issues on trains and escalators throughout the system.