BC Transit Announces Recovery Plan

On May 21, 2020, BC Transit announced their Recovery Plan. They will follow the guidance of the Provincial Health Office and WorkSafeBC, and draw on the best practices of the transit industry worldwide. They will continue with many of the measures put in place to respond to COVID-19, and are implementing some additional practices and procedures to align with BC’s Restart Plan.

Measures already in place that will continue:

• Enhanced cleaning and sanitization on buses and at BC Transit facilities
• Rear door loading and ceasing fare collection (until May 31, 2020)
• Limiting passenger capacity to support physical distancing
• A red line on floor at front of bus indicates passengers to stand behind
• Additional personal protective equipment for handyDART transit operators
• Communication to staff and customers to encourage behaviours that contribute to the safety of themselves, our operators and fellow passengers:
• Practicing physical distancing when possible
• Standing behind the red line to give your driver space
• Moving to an open space if available o Avoiding touching your face
• Practicing proper hand hygiene and coughing or sneezing into the bend of your arm
• Staying home if you are feeling unwell

The following procedures will be in place to align with BC’s Restart Plan:

• Capacity management:
• BC Transit will continue to target a comfortable capacity on buses
• Capacity will be managed by shifting demand to times and places where there is extra capacity
• Operators will manage bus capacity
• In communities with NextRide, riders will be encouraged to check for capacity conditions in advance of boarding
• The use of face coverings will be encouraged on buses and at bus stops where physical distancing is not possible
• Additional signage will be put in place across the province to promote these practices
• Resuming front door loading and fare collection (effective June 1, 2020)
• Entering only at the front and exiting only at the rear door to get more one way flow, with the exception of mobility aids (effective June 1, 2020)
• An exception will be made for customers with mobility aids to exit through the front of the bus
• Protective barriers for operators in the form of vinyl panels or full driver doors
• Timeline for installation of full driver door protective barriers on buses will be accelerated