Transit ramps up social distancing

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/03/2020 (2163 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba has walked back physical-distancing requirements for public transportation providers that were set to come into effect Monday.

Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer, last week directed transportation providers to maintain a one- or two-metre separation between passengers to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus.

On Monday, Roussin clarified Transit, taxi and private ride-hailing operators should instead maintain “reasonable separation” of passengers within their vehicles.

“It’s difficult to list a specific distance, but a reasonable level of spacing is expected,” he said during the province’s daily news briefing.

Winnipeg Transit operator Bill Hadden isn’t sure the message will be effective coming from bus drivers.

“You can try, but (passengers) probably won’t listen to you,” he said Monday, while driving eastbound on Portage Avenue.

Transit has rolled out a public awareness campaign, but so far is only asking drivers to manage social distancing between themselves and passengers.

“We are encouraging our operators to remind passengers to stay behind the yellow line (markers on buses) to maintain social distancing,” a City of Winnipeg spokesperson said in a written statement.

Hadden has worked as a bus driver for 22 years, and said he hasn’t noticed much of a change in passenger behaviour over the last three weeks. People are continuing to sit near each other and congregate around doors when entering and exiting the bus. He’s also seeing a lot of familiar faces on his route.

“People are still going out for the sake of going out,” Hadden said. “The coffee crowd is still meeting, I’m still seeing the same six people every morning.”

The Free Press rode two buses through downtown Winnipeg on Monday afternoon. Both displayed exterior messages encouraging riders to practise social distancing, stickers asking passengers to stay back from operator safety shields, and advertisements detailing proper handwashing techniques.

There were more than a dozen passengers — some wearing face masks and gloves — on each bus, and while no one was sharing a row, there was nothing stopping them from doing so.

Jonathan Heilman said he is a regular Transit user, and has been taking the bus to local shopping centres and to visit friends and family since getting laid off earlier this month.

“I’m just killing time right now. I try to stay home, but it’s kind of boring,” he said while waiting for a bus outside Portage Place.

Heilman said he has travelled on many empty buses lately, and fellow passengers seem to be keeping their distance from one another, for the most part.

While bus services in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta have moved to reduced schedules, Winnipeg Transit continues to operate at a full service level with the goal of preventing overcrowding and to allow for social distancing on its vehicles.

Kelly Rheaume lives in Charleswood, and didn’t have to worry about sitting too close to anyone during her commute downtown Monday morning.

“There was only two of us,” she said. “Last week, it was more packed, and this week, more people I guess are staying home.”

Winnipeg Transit has provided drivers individual bottles of hand sanitizer to use while on duty, but Rheaume would like to see such products made available to passengers, too.

“I think they should have at least wipes on the bus for us Transit users to be able to get on and wipe our seat down,” she said.

Victoria Wanke rides the bus Monday to Friday to get to her job downtown.

“The crowds are a lot thinner, there used to be only standing room on the bus. I would say there’s maybe at most 10 people on the bus at a time,” she said Monday.

While it may be good for social distancing, the smaller crowds have Wanke concerned about her safety while commuting.

“There’s less people around,” she said. “Even waiting for the bus right now in the daytime, I still feel kind of uncomfortable.”

eva.wasney@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @evawasney