GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The Rapid bus system is now permitting its vehicles to operate at full capacity after limiting service since April the number of passengers allowed on each bus to 15 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
At a time when public health officials are still emphasizing social distancing, the change begs the question: Is it safe?
“We feel very confident about the cleanliness and the safety of our buses,” said Bill Kirk, a spokesperson for The Rapid, which provides bus service for the Grand Rapids metro area.
“Should we encounter any issues that we’re uncomfortable with, we’ll adjust. But right now, we feel good about it.”
The Rapid instituted its 15-person capacity limit on April 1, relatively early in the pandemic, when the number of confirmed coronavirus cases was rising sharply across the state.
Full capacity on The Rapid’s buses ranges. The Laker Line, for example, is larger than The Rapid’s traditional buses, and can accommodate 90 people.
In addition to limiting its buses to 15 passengers, The Rapid limited its DASH shuttle, serving downtown Grand Rapids, to 10 riders per-vehicle. All Rapid passengers are also required to wear masks.
Now, Kirk says, The Rapid has the cleaning procedures in place to keep riders safe, and enough personal protective gear to protect its drivers.
He said The Rapid’s buses are cleaned and disinfected every night using an antiseptic treatment, an electrostatic spray and a high temperature steam clean. And when buses stop at The Rapid’s service stations in Kentwood and Grand Rapids, workers wipe down high-contact areas with disinfectants.
“Between the cleaning and the mask requirement, we’re feeling really good about how safe and how clean our buses are,” he said. Later, he added: “This is really about us providing enough service on the road to make sure that people can get where they need to go.”
Kent County Health Department spokesperson Steve Kelso said his agency did not have a say in The Rapid’s decision to lift is passenger limit, and would not say whether he agreed or disagreed with the bus system’s decision to do so.
Kelso said people who use public transportation should protect themselves from contracting coronoavirus by practicing proper hand washing and, if possible, avoid riding the bus during peak times when it’s most crowded.
“We certainly believe in social distancing,” he said. “On a crowded bus, that is going to be difficult to maintain. Therefore all we can really do is provide you this guidance.”
Don Rozanski, 47, of Grand Rapids says he’s comfortable with The Rapid allowing more passengers on its buses.
“It doesn’t really worry me,” said Rozanski, who took a bus to downtown Grand Rapids from his home near 3 Mile Road NE and Plainfield Avenue on Monday to grab a coffee and snack at Panera Bread on Monroe Avenue.
He said the fact The Rapid is also increasing the frequency at which its buses pick up riders at six routes — from once every hour to once every half-hour — will also help alleviate crowding.
“With the increased amount of buses running, I don’t think it’s going to be a problem,” he said, referring to concerns around overcrowding on buses.
Another rider, Abby Polakowski, had a similar opinion.
“I’m not really worried,” said Polakowski, a sophomore at Grand Valley State University who took The Rapid’s new, larger Laker Line bus from Allendale for a class at the university’s PEW Campus in downtown Grand Rapids.
“When I rode the bus down here — they’re a lot bigger this year. It was not even close to halfway full.”
One student, however, had concerns.
Monica Belasco, a junior at GVSU, said she felt fine using the Laker Line Monday, when the bus was far from full. But she said she would be worried if one of the vehicles became too crowded.
“I think the more people on the bus is kind of uncomforting at times because I do have a friend who is very sensitive to the whole thing and she’s immunocompromised right now,” she said.
“I think that they should probably lower down the capacity of the buses just to be a little more safe.”
Moving forward, The Rapid will monitor ridership levels and is prepared to make adjustments if any issues affecting safety arise, Kirk said.
“We don’t expect ridership to go through the roof because of this,” he said. “We expect ridership levels to maintain the level they’re at now and maybe slowly increase.”
He added, “If we do start to see ridership come back in a significant way that is posing any sort of issues on the bus, then we may consider different levels of capacity. What we want to do is put this service on the road today, monitor it as closely as we can, and just adapt as needed.”
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