How U.S. Public Transit Can Survive Coronavirus - CityLab - 0 views
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That’s why short-term cuts deployed to save transit agencies money during a crisis should not become permanent once the crisis is over. Transit agency after transit agency made this same mistake after 2008 and saw ridership decline year after year, except Seattle, which increased service and experienced ridership gains.
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"Hire more cleaners to sanitize vehicles and stations frequently. Alex Garcia, an American urbanist researcher living in Taipei, told us that in the event of an outbreak, that city plans to disinfect all of its stations daily, the equipment that passengers touch every four hours, and trains every two hours if there is even a suspected case traveling by train. Seoul also uses drones to sprinkle disinfectant on hard-to-reach elevated places. Use noninvasive handheld or infrared thermometers to scan all passengers' temperature - a technique that is very common outside stores and offices in Asian cities and is now being employed to screen transit users in Taipei. Provide front-line workers with masks, gloves, and other protective equipment, especially those tasked with cleaning the system. New York City Transit cleaners have had to work without any PPE, which may have contributed to the elevated death rates among them. Require all passengers to cover their faces, and clearly communicate what is and is not allowed. Reusable cloth masks should be acceptable. Engage in small-scale capital projects to reduce infection spread, such as coating metal poles on trains with copper, which renders viruses inactive. (One Taipei-based food chain has so coated its doorknobs.) For the fast-growing number of operators who have been exposed to the virus already, ensure that they have the job protections and medical care that they require."