Covid Ambassadors, Free Face Masks Await Toronto Transit Riders
Covid Ambassadors, Free Face Masks Await Toronto Transit Riders
(Bloomberg) -- Covid “ambassadors” will hand out free face masks as North America’s third-busiest transit system gears up for a gradual return to work in Toronto after a lockdown that has dragged on for almost three months.
Thousands of bankers, traders and other workers use the often-packed subway system to get to their jobs in Canada’s financial capital. The country’s five largest banks have head offices within a few blocks of the city’s main rail hub, Union Station.
But the elbow-to-elbow commute is about to change. The Toronto Transit Commission will distribute 1 million non-medical masks as face coverings become mandatory on July 2. There will be decals on floors and walls to help educate passengers and hand sanitizers available in all stations.
“It’s the mindset that people come into the public transit system feeling safe. That’s the message we want to continue to give to people,” Chief Executive Officer Rick Leary said in a video interview with Bloomberg. “Physical distancing on public transit -- we call it mass transit and moving masses amount of people as quickly as possible -- isn’t really possible.”
The TTC carried about 1.7 million passengers per day prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the busiest after New York City and Mexico City.
Ridership has sunk by about 80% on the TTC as people avoid public transportation and work from home, wiping out about C$21 million ($15 million) per week of revenue. At this rate, the TTC could have a deficit as large as C$600 million by the end of the year. With more than C$200 million of cost cuts planned, that hole could narrow to about C$400 million, Leary said.
Surveys show 50% to 75% of people are comfortable returning to the TTC as long as they are happy appropriate measures in the place, Leary said.
“We’re cleaning our buses and street cars two to three times a day,” he said. At the end of each line on the subway, someone also does a quick wipe down with a hospital-grade disinfectant. “That’s going to give them the comfort that the TTC is doing everything possible for their comfort and safety. We think people will start coming back.”
But even as the TTC gets ready for more riders, it’s unclear when people will start coming back into offices that fill buildings across the city.
While Canada’s largest province moved to the next phase of reopening its economy last week, Toronto and its suburbs have been excluded from Ontario’s three-stage restart. Two dozen major employers also agreed last month to keep most of their downtown staff at home at least until September. That includes the big banks, major insurance companies, telecom companies and colleges.
Still, the TTC is moving through the process of getting its plans approved by its board.
“At some point, we want everybody to be so reminded of this that it becomes second nature to think: ‘Am I going to let that street car go by and wait for the next one?”’
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