Buses in St. Albert are indefinitely being reduced to 50 per cent capacity, as the city aims ramps up its protections against potential transmission of COVID-19.
Monday was the first day of the new capacity procedures, and the new strategy has worked “very, very well” according to St. Albert Transit manager of planning and customer services, Will Steblyk.
“The idea of that is to create space between passengers. And the idea is also to have everybody sitting in a seat by themselves,” Steblyk said.
Ridership has “diminished significantly” since classes were cancelled, and Steblyk said SAT has not been required to activate overload buses so far, although they are on stand by if capacities do reach 50 per cent.
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If additional buses are required, Steblyk said SAT is hoping a re-juggling of buses does not impact other routes in the system.
The city is not considering cancelling bus services at this time, Steblyk said, and that directive would likely come from higher levels of government.
It is important to keep buses on the road even as students do not require transit, because there are still lots of residents who rely on transit to get to work, Steblyk said.
There is signage up on the buses and in transit facilities, informing people of the 50 per cent maximum capacity target.
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In addition to the reduced capacity of buses, SAT has ramped up its cleaning of buses, including disinfecting touch points and seats on the bus.
“If you are feeling the effects or feeling any kind of symptoms, please do not board, public transit,” Steblyk said.
As the global pandemic situation unfolds by the day, Steblyk said the capacity limits on buses will remain in place indefinitely but will be reassessed April 5.
