Rural public transit agencies struggling in pandemic; advocate says drivers should be prioritized for vaccine

"In communities where the nearest hospital or supermarket may be an hour’s drive away, rural public transportation meets residents’ most basic needs. But at the start of the pandemic, ridership of public buses and vans—commonly ridden to crucial destinations like work, dialysis appointments, and the grocery store—declined by 90 percent in some rural areas," Olivia Weeks reports for The Daily Yonder. "According to a January survey of more than 100 rural and small-urban transit agencies by the Community Transportation Association of America, rural transit operations reported a 52.2% decrease in ridership since this time last year."

Loss of customers means a loss of revenue, which can make it difficult for transit agencies to stay open since they still must run routes and pay maintenance costs and salaries. "Maintaining staff is crucial even when ridership is low—a typical 16-passenger rural transit bus can safely fit only four people with proper social-distancing. Often it takes two buses to transport eight people when, prior to Covid-19, one bus could fit 16," Weeks reports. "The problems with restoring that ridership are plentiful: rural transit vehicles are small and social-distancing is difficult, drivers and riders are often high-risk for Covid-19, and vaccine availability varies widely from state to state."

CTAA director Barbara Cline said rural transit drivers must be prioritized as frontline workers and that rural America needs more access to vaccines, Weeks reports. The Federal Transit Administration has suggested that public transit providers facing low ridership should partner with local governments to provide essential community services during the pandemic such as meal delivery and vaccine distribution. CARES Act funding can assume the costs.