How Transit Services Employees And Drivers-For-Hire Can Protect Themselves and Passengers From Health Risks

Workers in the public transit industry and passenger drivers-for-hire—such as rideshare, limo, or taxi drivers—face unique challenges in protecting their passengers from the health risks they face, including during their travel and at transit system stations and stops.

Due to the high volume of passengers that public transit systems and rideshare providers service each day and the constant use of shared seating and facilities, drivers and workers must take advanced precautions to reduce the ongoing spread of illnesses and diseases like COVID-19.

Protecting Against Ongoing Health Risks for Transit System Workers And Passengers

Our Healthier Workplaces guidance documents offer practical advice for how transit services workers and passenger-drivers-for-hire can protect themselves and passengers from the evolving health risks they face. The guidance borrows from the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advice and expert counsel from leading health, government, and industry organizations.

In the “Resources By Type” below under “Support Documents,” you will find our Healthier Workplaces: Guidance for Transit Services (Buses, Subways, and Light Rails), 2nd edition guidance document and other websites and industry organizations to learn about:

  • Ventilation considerations for transit vehicles and waiting areas, including how to position pedestal or hard-mounted fans

  • Enhanced cleaning and disinfection practices for commonly used items and high-touch surfaces like seats, handrails, door handles, and window latches

  • Ways to enable physical distancing, including vehicle configuration recommendations

  • Strategies for limiting the number of passengers on board and within stations

  • Additional Safety Resources For Transit System Employers

  • To access more help and resources to understand and avoid the ongoing health risks of mass transit systems, we recommend you explore the following resources and networks.

You will also find our “Healthier Workplaces and Schools eBook”, which shares actionable steps to protect drivers and passengers, including information on the following areas:

What should an individual vehicle owner or passenger drivers-for-hire employer do to reduce the risk for drivers and customers during transport?

  • Enhanced vehicle cleaning and disinfecting practices

  • Personal hygiene recommendations, including how often rideshare drivers should wash their hands

  • Vehicle configuration ideas to help distance passengers on a car, van, or bus

What can a passenger do to reduce their health risk?

  • What to do if you need to sneeze or cough in a shared vehicle

  • Self-monitoring practices and how to know if you should stay home

  • Sanitization best practices when using high-touch surfaces

Keeping Transportation Industry Employees Safe

In addition to transit system workers and passenger drivers-for-hire, millions of other transportation industry employees—including trucking, railway, and air or water vehicle employees—face unique hazards when transporting materials.

Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety (OEHS) experts partner with teams to identify and mitigate the health and safety risks associated with their unique work environments, including potential exposure to hazardous materials and environments.

In the below ‘Resources by Type,’ you will find more information about how OEHS professionals help transportation industry employees. If you’re ready to partner with an OEHS expert to safeguard your team, find a consultant through AIHA’s Consultant Directory.

Resources by type

To learn more about how to protect public transit workers and passenger drivers-for-hire and their passengers, we encourage you to review these resources:

Publications

  • Healthier Workplaces and Schools eBook
    The recent pandemic has taught us many important lessons about the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19, RSV, and measles in indoor environments. As a result, we must take advantage of what we have learned to help ensure our places of work are and continue to be safe places for our workers, customers, and communities. Many of the steps you can take to help keep buildings and the people in them safer and healthier are simple and effective and can be adjusted to meet the current situation or infectious disease risk that exists. In this e-book, we will walk you through the different approaches to help mitigate the risk of spreading airborne infectious diseases depending on your workplace setting.

  • Mass Transit

  • Metro Magazine

Support Documents
AIHA Articles
Websites