Public transit prepping for new normal as cities and provinces start to reopen
The gradual reopening of Canada’s economy will not mean business as usual for the country’s public transit agencies.
Despite the fact that a slowly growing number of workers will make their way back to the country’s buses, streetcars and subways as they return to workplaces shuttered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the systems that will help get them there say they anticipate maintaining measures that took effect while most of their riders were in lockdown.
Reduced service levels, limited seating and enhanced cleaning protocols will still be in place, several transit agencies said, acknowledging that even more steps may come into play over time but declining to offer details.
“COVID has changed everything for us,” said Anne Marie Aikins, spokesman for Ontario regional transit provider Metrolinx that operates the heavily travelled GO Transit network. “That’s not going to disappear overnight.”