https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-12/transit-agencies-should-focus-on-masks-not-crowds
“Crowding” has emerged as one of the buzziest terms in public transport during the Covid-19 era. Seeking to avoid standing-room-only trips — and the elevated fears of contagion that now accompany any gathering of people in an enclosed space — transit agencies in cities like Pittsburgh and Oakland have revised their rules to limit the number of bus passengers allowed on board. Some, like Boston’s MBTA and L.A. Metro, have started offering passengers real-time crowding estimates for buses and trains.
This fixation on transit crowding is understandable. Six months into the coronavirus pandemic, the six-foot social distancing guidance recommended by the Centers for Disease Control has been firmly fixed into the consciousness of most Americans, and that much separation isn’t always possible in enclosed vehicles, be they trains, buses, taxis or airliners.
But overseas, some transit systems have managed to return to normal capacity without evidence so far that they are exposing workers or passengers to undue risk. Taipei’s metro system is once again packed, for example, with no virus spread detected. Transit riders have also returned in countries like Spain and Japan without evidence of spreading the disease.
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