Riders using Calgary Transit continue to worry about travelling even though wearing masks has been made mandatory by the city on buses and C-Trains.
On Aug. 17, in buses and C-Trains, seating restrictions were lifted, and full capacity seating was made available for the riders.
The move followed approval of the city’s temporary mandatory mask bylaw, to keep the riders safe when they can’t maintain distance from each other.
People using public transport are complaining about the violation of social distancing which increases the risk of spreading the virus. Students and workers are facing this problem daily as most of them travel by bus.
“No doubt that masks are made compulsory while using public transport, but still there are five per cent of people who don’t wear a mask while boarding the bus or train. Drivers can only give warnings to the people who are not wearing a mask, but the transit supervisor can give the ticket of $50 to the passengers boarding the bus or train without masks,” said Karnail Tutt, driver in the Calgary Transit.
“During the busy hours the buses are overcrowded. I think there should be more buses at busy hours. I feel that no matter what, but social distancing must be practiced in buses and trains so that people can travel safely using Calgary transit,” said Tutt.
“My mother drops me to school because I don’t feel safe to travel using transit,” said Masooma Naqvi, student at Lester B. Pearson High School.
“She takes off for an hour to drop me to school. She does this to keep our family safe from COVID-19. Most buses are overcrowded in the morning and noon, and this is the time when transit is used by most of the people. So I don’t think that using transit is safe for anyone because no social distancing is practiced in it,” said Naqvi.
“While travelling, instead of keeping distance, people just come and sit beside me,” said Fariah Batool, an assistant director of admissions in CDI College.
“Some people are coughing with their mask on and they are touching the seats and stop buttons on the buses. I feel that the particles are still there in the air when they are coughing. That’s why I don’t feel safe because it’s a long journey for me, travelling for almost one hour a day in transit,” Batool said.
