OC Transpo passengers, staff will soon need to wear masks

In a little more than two weeks, anyone entering an OC Transpo bus, train or station or a Para Transpo minibus or accessible taxi will be required to wear a mask, as the city adjusts to the realities of the COVID-19 era.

Starting June 15, passengers and staff alike will be required to wear non-medical masks, or some other sort of material that covers their face,to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The rules are being put in place as ridership slowly begins to increase, and will remain until the medical officer of health no longer believes widespread mask use isnecessary, according to a report released Thursday.

The plan for returning to 95 per cent ofnormal summer service by June 28 will "coincide with the city's planning horizon for the end of the emergency measures on July 1," according the report.

'Enforcement is a concern'

OC Transpo staff warn that its progressionto full service is a "rolling wave plan," and that it may be necessary to regress should COVID-19 cases increase too much.

Still, if the summer service goes well, OC Transpoplans to institute full fall service, including school routes, on Aug. 30.

Coun. Allan Hubley, who chairs the transit commission,said that while "enforcement is a concern,"the city's immediate preoccupation is not withfining people.

"We hope that we have the co-operation of the users and certainly the employees," Hubley told CBC. "We're not doing this for any other reason than for their self-protection."

OC Transpoemployees will be provided with masks, and a limited number will be handed out the week of June 15 to riders who've forgotten theirs.

The additional COVID-19 related measures for masks and other supplies come with a monthly cost of $950,000, on top of theone-time cost of $325,000 to install "soft barriers" in buses and sanitizer dispensers in stations.

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That's a drop in the bucket when compared with the millions of lost revenue OC Transpohas experienced in the last few months. At last count, the transit department was forecast to be $85 million in the red by the end of the year, but an update is expected Monday.

Ridership slowly increasing

"It's been bad," said Hubleyof the financial hit transit is taking due to the pandemic. "We were tracking well for bringing in new riders and COVID pulled the rug right out from under us."

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At the end of March, transit ridership had plummeted to as low as 15 per cent of usual levels, creating enoughroom on manytransit routes that passengers could distance themselves from each other.

But this month, ridership appears to have inched up to 30 per cent. When it increases to above 40 percent on buses and above 20 per centon trains physical distancing will not be possible, which is why OC Transpo, in conjunction with Ottawa Public Health,is mandating the use of masks.

List of safety measures

Here are the measures OC Transposays it's taking to "help keep transit as safe as possible for customers and employees":

• Making it mandatory for customers and staff to wear non-medical masks, beginning June 15.
• Installing hand sanitizer dispensers at stations.
• Controlling the flow of buses into busy transfer stations, including Blair, Hurdman and Tunney's Pasture.
• Increasing space on board buses and trains, by adding additional buses on busy routes, adding two more LRT trains and allowing the front of buses to be used again.
• Introducing enhanced daily cleaning of buses, trains and stations.
• Installing barrier shields around drivers onall buses.
• Putting up signs that remind riders to wearmasks and assess their ownsymptoms.
• Implementing touch-free fare payment, with more frequent cleaning of ticket machines and PIN pads at stations.

OC Transpo management will present the plan to a special meeting of thetransit commission Monday.