ALL PHOTOS CREDIT: WINNIPEG TRANSIT
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PUBLIC TRANSIT DURING A PANDEMIC BY BJÖRN RÅDSTRÖM WINNIPEG TRANSIT
Public transit is in a unique position during this COVID-19 pandemic. While everyone else is shutting down, we are not only an essential service, we also carry staff to and from their jobs in other essential services. We can’t even consider making changes to or reducing our service levels without a lot of thought and deep consideration of who it affects and how it affects them. One of the biggest challenges is this: there is no right answer. And that’s a tough position to be in. On the outside, I see lots of commentary in places like Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and traditional news media where people claim they know exactly what should be done. I wish I could spend 30 minutes with each of them discussing the profound tradeoffs in each decision they think is so easy to make.
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TRANSPORTATION TALK | SPRING 2020
“Shut it down!” Ok, but what about the people who are still working and depending on transit to get them to and from work? They can’t afford to just not work—and they need our services. Some of these people are the hospital workers on the front lines of the pandemic response and they certainly need to get to work. We’re not just talking doctors and nurses here either; all of the support staff needed for a hospital to keep running have to get to work. Let’s not forget about grocery store workers as well as people doing logistics in warehouses that distribute food and other necessary supplies. Even during a pandemic, many essential workers still need transit to get to work so we can all keep going.
