CINCINNATI, Ohio — While a lot of businesses are closing, buses are still operating and picking up passengers, taking every precaution to ensure their operators and passengers are safe.
When it comes to riding the Cincinnati Metro Bus, Braylea Proper says for the most part, she feels safe.
"We try to keep hand sanitizer or Clorox wipes and stuff with us and we don’t touch anything. We put our hands in our jackets and stuff,” said Proper, who is a Metro passenger.
Keeping passengers and operators safe is what Metro Vice President of External Affairs Brandy Jones says is one of their top priorities. That is why they’ve implemented several safety measures like cleaning the buses daily with disinfectant spray, requiring passengers to board and exit out of the rear doors and putting up a divider between operators and passengers.
"We’re trying to do things that will help people keep a distance,” said Jones. “We’re reminding our customers to only take essential trips and when they’re on board, as much as they can, to spread out and give distance when they’re riding on board."
And Metro isn’t the only public transit authority in Ohio to go out of its way to help essential workers and operators.
Both the Cleveland RTA and the Central Ohio Transit Authority have also implemented similar safety measures.
And if that wasn’t enough, COTA and Metro have also suspended bus fare to help essential workers "who still rely on us every day to get to work, customers who take the bus to get to the grocery stores or the doctors appointments or what have you," said Jones. "We knew that it was necessary to keep Metro service going.”
"I think it’s convenient for people who actually need to go places,” said Proper.
While transit authorities are making sure to be there for their essential workers, they are also adjusting their routes and services. Right now Cincinnati is running on a Saturday schedule with fewer stops.
Starting on Sunday, the Cleveland RTA will be reducing bus and rail services by 15 percent. This will impact all but 13 routes. COTA is also slashing services and frequencies of routes.
Despite all the extra steps transit authorities are putting in place to keep everyone safe, some people still have reservations about getting on the bus.
That’s the case for Cheyenne Adams, mother of two who says she knows she’s putting her children at risk every time she gets on the bus. But riding the bus is her only option.
"If I had a car I would not, but I got to do what I got to do to provide. So I’m really taking a risk because I got two babies,” said Adams.
Even during this time of uncertainty, Metro still plans to provide a service that passengers have come to rely on.
"We know that public transit is an essential service and we know there are so many workers right now who depend on us to get to those essential jobs,” said Jones. “So at this time, we are committed to continuing to provide service to the best of our ability.”
