COVID-19: Public transport is a ticking time bomb

A well-structured overview created by this newspaper, using the reports of journalists in 16 major cities throughout Mexico confirms what many already suspected: amid the worst pandemic in recent years, public transport is the place with highest contagion risk because no one, nor passengers nor drivers, follows basic prevention measures. Moreover, no one verifies if the vehicles are sanitized.

The majority of drivers don’t wear face masks, face shields, or goggles. They argue that wearing PPE is uncomfortable. Some users and public transport workers seem to follow COVID-19 rules in some bus stops, but once they board the units, they usually remove their face masks. Furthermore, singers, musicians, and street vendors board the buses to sing and sell their products without wearing PPE to protect themselves and the public transport users.

Although authorities asked concession holders to operate buses at half of their capacity, the operators ignore these recommendations for economic reasons. On the other hand, passengers want to get to their destination sooner rather than waiting for another bus.

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Moreover, it is important to keep in mind that the majority of chauffeurs don’t have a salary and only receive a percentage of bus fares. Additionally, concession holders must cover sanitization expenses to operate, bus drivers also pay for fuel and fines.

It is useless to protect yourself if no one follows preventive measures inside public transport, especially if the units operate under the same saturation conditions as before.

Local governments must rethink the conditions under which public transport operates, especially because it is used by the majority of society. This is an important issue amid a public health crisis that could be used as a starting point to reshape public transporting and improve it.

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