For essential workers who take ‘packed’ Halifax buses, social distancing isn’t an option

During the third wave of COVID-19, people in Nova Scotia are being told to stay home, limit their close contacts and keep six feet apart.

But for essential workers who need to take crowded Halifax Transit buses to work, that advice isn’t easy to follow.

Most mornings, 22-year-old Tanner Hart takes the bus from the Lacewood terminal to his job at a warehouse in Burnside, and then back home at the end of the day. Very little physical distancing takes place on his usual route, he said.

“They’re packed in the mornings, for sure. Like, every single seat and a lot of people standing up in the aisles. After work, it’s not as packed as the morning bus, but it’s still pretty full,” he said.

“I’m not 100 per cent comfortable being that close to a bunch of people in a pandemic, where even the premier of Nova Scotia is recommending you stay 6 feet (apart), but the transit system is OK with you being right next to somebody.”

During a news conference Monday, Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin commented there are early signs the province’s lockdown is working and there are “little to no” COVID-19 exposure sites, but that isn’t the case on Halifax Transit.

Monday night alone, Nova Scotia Health issued 19 new potential COVID-19 exposures on the transport service, which is run by Halifax Regional Municipality.

As of Tuesday, there were 101 active exposures on bus routes listed on the Nova Scotia Health website, in which passengers were told to get tested and self-isolate while awaiting test results.

There are also a number of service disruptions due to staffing availability, as many Halifax Transit drivers are in self-isolation.

Hart said he recently had an exposure on his regular bus route and had to miss two days of work while he waited for his results to come back.

He also regularly sees passengers, and sometimes drivers, either not wearing masks or wearing them below their noses.

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The union representing transit workers has called for more safety precautions on buses, including the reinstatement of back-door boarding, which was put in place last year during the first wave of the pandemic.

Other regulations put in place during the first, less serious, wave of the pandemic – such as not allowing passengers to stand – haven’t made a return, even though the province now has more active cases of COVID-19 than ever before.

The president of the union recently tweeted a photo of a crowded Halifax Transit bus, wondering why more protections haven’t been put in place for drivers and passengers.

Hart said his usual bus recently began putting stickers on some seats to keep them blocked off, but there are still so many people standing that it doesn’t make a difference.

“There was a bunch of stuff they did in the first wave that they’re refusing to do here in the third wave … and it’s a lot worse now,” he said. “So it’s kind of confusing.”

Hart feels as though the government isn’t doing enough to protect essential workers who don’t have the option to work from home and depend on transit to get around.

“It kind of looks like they care that the people get to work, and that they do the job and that they keep the economy running, but it doesn’t seem like they care much about the health of the people who are going out to get the economy running and keep the jobs moving,” he said.

“They want those people to keep going to work, but it’s almost like they’re kind of being a little lax with the safety of these essential workers.”

In an email, Maggie-Jane Spray, a spokesperson for Halifax Regional Municipality, said backdoor boarding requires a section of the front of the bus to be blocked off, which reduces the space available for drivers to distance.

“Backdoor boarding was put in place as extra protection for operators prior to the installation of the polycarbonate shields,” she said. “As confirmed by public health, the polycarbonate shields, as well as the mandatory use of masks, provide appropriate mitigation of risk associated with the spread of COVID-19.”

Spray did not say why passengers are still allowed to stand on the bus.

Taking precautions

Another regular transit user, meanwhile, says she feels comfortable taking her regular bus to work.

Anne Marie Evans, a home-care worker in Halifax, said she takes the bus every day in the afternoon to get to her client’s house. She said while some people don’t wear their masks properly, she still feels safe.

“There’s signs on the bus that say, ‘Space yourselves out, skip your seat,’” she said. “I’ve been extremely lucky that none of my buses have been exposed.”

She said if there is an exposure, she’s in a position where she could walk to work, if necessary. But she noted many of the transit exposures are in Dartmouth, so she’s not at that point yet.

Still, Evans takes extra precautions whenever she uses transit.

“Always washing my hands and never touching my face, social distancing, staying in my community like we’re supposed to,” she said.

She had some words of advice for people who have the option: “Stay home so we can get through this.”

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