John Besche Photo
Ramona Williams and Corris Smith at Church Street bus stop.
Riders board through the side entrance at the middle of the bus. Drivers don’t collect fares. Chain barriers separate bus drivers from their passengers.
These changes to make CTtransit buses safer in the Covid-19 era have cheered passengers and tap into a regional movement to see buses as a public good. Whether the changes that riders see as positive will last beyond the pandemic remains to be seen.
Riding the bus now “is more convenient because you don’t have to pay and you can keep more distance,” said rider Tony Williams, who was visiting New Haven from Hartford.
At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, CTtransit issued a moratorium on fare collection, installed chain barriers between the driver’s area and passengers, and set stricter cleaning protocols. Passengers are required to board toward the back of the bus to eliminate interaction with the driver and avoid the congestion that results from fare collection. (Exceptions are made for disabled riders.)
CTtransit has been tracking whether these changes make riders feel safe enough to return.
According to Kevin Nursick, the state Department of Transportation’s communications director, ridership decreased to around 46 percent of pre-Covid levels for a short period of time. Since then, ridership has been at around 50 percent of the norm with recent upticks to 70 percent in early July.
“Our ability to maintain service at our customary levels has continued to show to our passengers that we are reliable even under the most challenging conditions,” Nursick wrote. “Therefore, we expect service to continue to rebound, and after the pandemic is over we expect to exceed prior ridership levels as a direct result.”
New Haven bus riders interviewed by the Independent said they have been happy with CTtransit’s modifications.
Wearing face masks as they waited for the bus, Ramona Williams and Corris Smith said the ride beats walking from one side of town to the other.
Smith rides the bus for her commute and her personal trips. She said that not only does she feel safe riding the bus, she prefers it to ridesharing services like Uber.
Karl Powers has seen a change among riders too. At the Green bus stop, he steadied his bike with one hand as he reflected on the past few months of bus trips.
“Nowadays, people are nicer,” Powers said.
Trends Towards Free Transit
Sam Gurwitt Photo
CTtransit’s halt on fare collection for public health concerns comes at a time when other New England cities are thinking about eliminating fare collection altogether.
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts recently introduced the Freedom to Move Act. It would provide $5 billion for local governments to experiment with fare-free public transportation.
“Transit justice is fundamental to economic empowerment and racial equity across every neighborhood,” Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu said of the legislation. “When we remove barriers to reliable, safe, convenient public transit, all communities benefit with cleaner air, safer streets, and faster commutes.”
Free transit has worked for Lawrence, Mass. After the city eliminated fare collection in Sept. 2019, bus ridership shot up by 24 percent.
For New Haven riders, though, this fare-free future is likely to last only as long as the pandemic.
Nursick wrote in an email to the Independent that the federal CARES Act is covering the lost fare revenue and the costs of increased sanitation measures. State budget woes make fare-free travel unlikely after that.
“We are not currently exploring a free fare policy,” Nursick said. “Connecticut will be facing a funding crisis in the state’s Special Transportation Fund in the next few years, and it is unlikely to be able to support a fare-free transit operation.”
Driver Perspectives
Sam Gurwitt File Photo
CTtransit bus operator Jasmine Medina.
New Haven bus drivers have more mixed feelings about the pandemic modifications than their passengers.
CTtransit driver Victor Acevedo said he feels safe in his job, thanks to hand sanitizer, face masks, and eye shields provided by the agency. The most important intervention for Acevedo has been the distance between drivers and riders.
“If someone’s running toward the bus and they’re panting because they’re out of breath, I don’t have to interact with them face to face because they enter through the back,” Acevedo said.
Acevedo added that he does not force his passengers to wear a face covering, since some people have respiratory conditions like chronic asthma.
Driver Javier Garcia said that some of his regulars have died from Covid-19, which makes him uneasy about his own safety.
“A lot of older people I used to see all the time, I don’t see them anymore,” he said.
The first CTtransit worker to die of Covid-19, Howard G. Rogers, Jr., passed away in May. At that time, 30 of 1,200 CTtransit employees had tested positive for the virus.
Garcia said that he, like Acevedo, lets the unmasked board his bus.
“I can’t leave anyone behind,” he said.
As the pandemic persists, CTtransit plans on furthering its public health standards. Nursick said that the agency is in the process of installing driver barriers in all of its buses.
CTtransit aims to have the barriers installed by the end of the year.
Paul Bass Photo
"Chain barriers separate bus drivers from their passengers."
Don't know what buses you've been riding but the barriers I see in the bus are a little cabin fitted around the bus driver with a panel that opens to let the driver out & back in. Most of the buses I've used have had these driver barriers for months, some even before COVID, due to physical assaults on drivers.
And the exceptions for the disabled are for wheelchair passengers since the bus ramp for wheelchairs is at the front entrance. And passengers needing the bus to "kneel" can board in front as the bus only "kneels" at the front of the bus (per bus company signage in the buses).