• Quick and Low-cost Solutions to Enhance Operator Safety: Minnesota Valley Transit Authority has produced plastic curtains to shield operator compartments and limit exposure. The agency says each curtain costs approximately $25, and that the material can be disinfected and switched out as needed. Meanwhile, Annapolis City Transportation has installed cut plexiglass “squeeze guard” barriers, which fit around the driver's cabin and do not interfere with the operator or boarding passengers. Read more
   
• Route Modification to Assure Lifeline Access: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority has made rapid bus route modifications to ensure better transit access to hospitals, urgent care facilities, grocery stores, and job centers/industrial hubs. The agency has also placed seat-blocking placards to prevent riders from sitting too close to each other, put in place a customer hotline to report overcrowding, and posted decals near the boarding door of all buses that encourages customers not to board a bus that does not have open seats. Read more
   
• Monitoring International Cities: Transit agencies in North America can gather important intelligence by watching the recovery patterns in cities hit early-on by COVID-19. Austria is one of the countries that has recently announced a partial relaxation of COVID-19 confinement measures and the Wiener Linien system in Vienna has announced the reopening of ticket offices. As they do this, the wearing of face masks has become mandatory. More to follow in upcoming bulletins on monitoring developments in early-impact cites in Asia and in Europe, which can reveal effective best practices around safety.