The Route Ahead | September 2020 | Community Transit News

National public transportation health and safety commitment program

Community Transit joined six local partner agencies, transit agencies across the country, and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) to commit to industry best practices for safe public transit in response to public concerns about riding transit during the COVID-19 crisis.

The APTA Health & Safety Commitments Program supports four broad commitments:

• Following public health guidelines from official sources.
• Cleaning and disinfecting transit vehicles frequently, and requiring face coverings and other protections.
• Keeping passengers informed and empowered to choose the safest times and routes to ride.
• Putting health first by requiring riders and employees to avoid public transit if they have been exposed to COVID-19 or feel ill.

In this program, APTA has created specific commitments that can be applied nationwide. In turn, each agency developed its own plan that may go beyond the national commitments and fit its riders and community. 

 Read the full story in a partner agency news release.

Van GO Program submission deadline: Sept. 30

Community Transit will award up to 12 surplus 15-passenger vans to local nonprofit organizations this year to meet the demand for transportation.

The surplus vanpool vehicles will be awarded to nonprofit organizations and agencies with 501(c)3 status that primarily serve residents of the Community Transit service area, which is Snohomish County excluding the City of Everett.

The deadline for applications is Sept. 30. To learn more about this program and how to apply, please visit https://www.communitytransit.org/vango.

New Safety Signage on Buses

Safety signage on Community Transit buses was recently refreshed to focus on the main messages riders need to know to ride transit safely during the pandemic. The new signs emphasize the following safety messages:

• Stay at least 6 feet from the driver and other riders
• Face coverings are mandatory
• Exit through the back door

Additionally, signage that is used on local and Swift routes to section off seats and allow for social distancing on buses are now securely attached to rope that visibly sections off the seats and informs riders not to sit there. Previously, these signs were attached to the back of the seat and customers complained that people were sitting down in these seats without reading the signs.

These are just a few of the ways the agency has updated safety measures based on customer feedback. To learn more tips for riding public transit safely and to learn about Community Transit’s commitment to safety, please visit https://www.communitytransit.org/coronavirus.

Safety is our top priority

Throughout this pandemic, the health and safety of our customers, employees and their families has been our top priority.

I’m proud for our agency to join six local partner transit agencies, other agencies across the country, and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) to commit to industry best practices for safe public transit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The APTA Health & Safety Commitments Program was developed after asking transit users from across the country what measures would make them feel more confident riding public transportation amid the current public health crisis.

Our own customer research has shown that as people learn more about health and safety programs in place, they are more likely to use public transportation, and feel safe while doing so. This is why we have not only focused on safety, but on communicating our safety efforts in a very clear and transparent way. Riders who have continued to rely on our service for essential travel have told us that they feel safe riding our service.

We continue to follow guidance from the Snohomish Health District, the Washington Department of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help limit the spread of COVID-19. As that public health guidance is updated, we are committed to quickly informing our riders and communities of any changes to our policies and practices.

We also continue to evaluate and improve operations during the pandemic. We encourage and value feedback from riders, customers, and community members and will soon have a follow-up survey to learn how your thoughts about transit have changed during this time.  As noted in the story above, we’ve revised our signage to remind riders of only the most important safety information and changed how we section off seats to create distancing based on customer feedback.

We are committed to partnering with our customers to continue to improve your experience and help keep our communities healthy and safe.

- Emmett Heath, CEO