Passenger told physical distancing "will no longer be possible" on TTC bus
![Passenger told physical distancing "will no longer be possible" on TTC bus](https://dpdajlq3ew794.cloudfront.net/20201014075521/TTC-buses.png?format=auto&width=1920)
The TTC has some news for transit riders. Physical distancing “will no longer be possible” on their buses.
On Tuesday a TTC rider, Victoria, took to social media posting a photo of a crowded bus asking the transit commissions “Curious as to how we’re supposed to social distance here?”
To which the response was, “as the city re-opens, social distancing will no longer be possible on our vehicles. As such, if you feel that a vehicle you are on is overcrowded, I would suggest getting off and boarding the next one.”
“Apologies for the inconvenience,” they added.
Hi Victoria. As the city re-opens, social distancing will no longer be possible on our vehicles. As such, if you feel that a vehicle you are on is overcrowded, I would suggest getting off and boarding the next one. Apologies for the inconvenience. ^FRš§
ā TTC Customer Service (@TTChelps) October 13, 2020
TTC spokesperson Stuart Green told Daily Hive that since June the transit commission has said that physical distancing would not be possible at all times, on all routes, as ridership increases.
“Which is why we have taken the steps of revising scheduled and unscheduled service to provide extra buses on the busiest routes and help spread customers out over more vehicles,” he said.
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According to Green, 92% of all bus trips have fewer than 25 people on board which is half of the bus capacity.
Because of this, the TTC is putting out close to 95% of pre-pandemic bus service to meet 50% of pre-pandemic bus service levels while targeting additional scheduled and unscheduled service to the busiest routes like, Keele, Dufferin, Jane, Finch, Lawrence, Markham Road and more.
“Those routes are getting more service now than they had pre-pandemic,” Green said.
“With automated passenger counting technology, we can monitor vehicles in real time and use additional unscheduled buses to give the busier routes relief without impacting regular scheduled service. But we also operate a large bus fleet in a big city and we need to continue to provide service to all routes.”
He also reiterated that since June the TTC has continued to monitor ridership with an eye to deploying full pre-pandemic service as system-wide ridership grows to the 50% level.
As of last week, they are operating around 36-37% of pre-pandemic ridership.
Coronavirus cases have been rising in the city with 330 reported on Tuesday, 315 on Monday, 204 on Sunday, and 401 on Saturday.