QUARANTINE AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICES
By Melanie Jimenez
Reflections Head
With COVID-19 bringing the world to a screeching halt, many industries are finding themselves with challenges they’ve never faced before. One of the most impacted industries is the transportation service, both private and government-run. In fact, in Chicago and San Francisco, the public busses have seen a 97% drop in riders due to the pandemic. Although some cities have not been seeing such a drastic shift, it is still a major problem that has been added to the ever-growing list of complications that need to be addressed: drivers aren’t finding customers since people aren’t leaving their homes during the quarantine. It’s a death sentence for an industry that relies on people wanting to move around the city.
It’s not difficult to understand why these industries are so harshly impacted. COVID-19 spreads through close-contact, often within six feet, or farther if an infected person coughs or sneezes. Busses and other similar forms of transportation seem like coffins in this case. Rush hour becomes a death trap. What was once a convenience is now a source of fear. People are dissuaded from using public transportation because it is so accessible—literally any infected person could be nearby. (People would much rather spend extra money on gasoline than be infected, it seems.)
Adding to these issues, the stay-at-home quarantine orders have only made ridership decline even more. In tightly-packed cities, subways and busses were the easiest ways to get around town easily. If you wanted to go out to a place that was too far to walk, there were many convenient options laid out. But the quarantine orders have prevented people from leaving their homes at all.
Instead of going out to restaurants or the movies—even before everything was closed down—many people preferred to stay home with family. In consequence, government-funded public transport services, as well as companies like Uber, Lyft, and taxis, have seen a substantial decrease in ridership.
But not all is bleak.
In some countries, including China, public transport busses have been turned into delivery vehicles for masks and other medical supplies needed in hospitals or treatment facilities. They have also been used to transport nurses or other essential workers from their homes or dorms to their workplaces. Many Uber and Lyft drivers have turned to delivering food, as many people now prefer to dine in the comfort of their own home.
In the face of major disruption, an entire industry has been transformed into something to suit the needs of the population. While Uber and Lyft once served to bring people together in crowded cities, it now allows people to order food and enjoy it without ever having to step foot out of their house. Essential workers are also given the supplies and transportation they need to get from place to place.
It’s a minor shift in the mechanics of the industry—in fact, it is mostly done in an effort to survive, to prevent going bankrupt—but it is a major testament to the willpower and adaptability of the human race. In the most desolate of times, we will continue to take advantage of the situation and move on from the dark days. Humans have always been, and will continue to be, adaptable; it is simply in our nature. We learn and grow and develop as a society.
We will get through this COVID-19 outbreak. Not because we are invincible, but because we have the ability to make the most of situations and come out better on the other side.
SOURCES:
1) Wilson, Kea. “People Are Still Riding the Bus During COVID-19 — and We Need To Protect Them.” StreetsBlog USA. Published 30 April 2020. https://usa.streetsblog.org/2020/04/30/covid-19-hasnt-impacted-bus-ridership-which-creates-a-huge-post-crisis-challenge/
2) “COVID-19 Health and Prevention.” Washington University in St. Louis. https://emergency.wustl.edu/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/covid-19-faqs/health-and-prevention/
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