Kamga Camille, Eickemeyer Penny
The University Transportation Research Center, Region 2, The City College of New York, New York, 10031, USA.
Civil Engineering, The City College of New York, New York, 10031, USA.
Transp Policy (Oxf). 2021 Jun;106:25-36. doi: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2021.03.014. Epub 2021 Mar 27.
This paper presents a review of social distancing measures deployed by transit agencies in the United States and Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses how specific operators across the two countries have implemented changes. Challenges and impacts on their operations are also provided. Social distancing is one of the community mitigation measures traditionally implemented during influenza pandemics and the novel coronavirus pandemic. Research has shown that social distancing is effective in containing the spread of disease. This is applicable to the current situation with the novel coronavirus, given the lack of effective vaccines and treatments in the United States and Canada in the first eight months of the pandemic. Moreover, social distancing is particularly useful in settings where community transmission is substantial. Directives for social distancing were issued in several states and public transit operators were charged with how to provide for physical distance of six feet between passengers on their property including physical infrastructure such as station buildings and rolling infrastructure (rolling stock) including trains, subway cars and buses. Operational changes were also required due to physical distancing, e.g. adding train cars to provide for opportunities to physically distance on the train. Examples of some measures discussed in this research includes taping off every other seat on buses, increasing the total length of trains by adding cars, separating bus drivers from passengers with plastic sheeting, rear door boarding, etc. This research also analyzes long-term impacts for transit operators and challenges to encourage passengers to return to public transit after lockdown requirements ordered by government officials are lifted. A section on the policies that are being explored by government to continue to sustain public transportation is also included.
本文回顾了美国和加拿大公共交通机构在新冠疫情期间采取的社交距离措施，并讨论了两国特定运营商如何实施这些变化。文中还介绍了这些措施对其运营带来的挑战和影响。社交距离是传统上在流感大流行和新型冠状病毒大流行期间实施的社区缓解措施之一。研究表明，社交距离在遏制疾病传播方面是有效的。鉴于在疫情的前八个月美国和加拿大缺乏有效的疫苗和治疗方法，这一措施适用于当前的新冠疫情形势。此外，社交距离在社区传播严重的环境中特别有用。几个州发布了社交距离指令，公共交通运营商负责在其设施内，包括车站建筑等物理基础设施以及火车、地铁车厢和公共汽车等滚动基础设施（车辆）上，为乘客保持6英尺的身体距离。由于物理距离的要求，还需要进行运营调整，例如增加火车车厢以提供在火车上保持身体距离的机会。本研究中讨论的一些措施示例包括在公交车上每隔一个座位贴上胶带、通过增加车厢来增加火车总长度、用塑料布将公交车司机与乘客隔开、后门上车等。本研究还分析了对公共交通运营商的长期影响，以及在政府官员发布的封锁要求解除后，鼓励乘客重返公共交通面临的挑战。文中还包括了政府正在探索的旨在持续维持公共交通的政策部分。
