New Yorkers afraid of contracting coronavirus on mass transit say they’re turning to bikes — many for the first time.

“I feel better taking the bike,” first-time two-wheeler Jen Ewald, 31, told The Post on Tuesday as she hopped on a Citi Bike on the Upper East Side.

“There are fewer hands touching these handlebars than the subway poles.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio and transit officials have advised commuters to avoid the subways in order to prevent over-crowding, and recommended that those who are able take bikes.

And many Big Apple residents appear to have heeded the advice.

On Monday, 21,300 people rode bikes over the four East River bridges, according to city data shared with The Post, a whopping 52 percent more than an average day in March of last year, when ridership was just over 14,000 — albeit with temperatures that were about 12 degrees lower.

The most recent March with comparable weather to this week, 2017, saw 14,729 bike crossings per day. In 2018, the average number of daily crossings was below 13,000.

Tuesday’s total ridership over the four bridges was 18,670, the city said.

“I started [bike] commuting today because of coronavirus,” said theater director Kate Whoriskey, of Cobble Hill. “I saw very few people on [the subway] and it made me think that I should not be on the subway either. I should be on a bike.”

“When I ride a bike, there’s fresh air and wind, which is better than a crowded train,” she added..

A Citi Bike spokesman declined to say whether the company had seen an increase in trips or first-time riders admit the outbreak, but regular users said they’d noticed a dearth of available bikes and docking spots.

“I’ve never seen bikes gone like I did this morning,” Russ Makofski, 34, of the Upper West Side, said Monday. “I got the last one.”