Safe Transport – Safe CITY
About this good practice
Starting with April 2020, Buzau Municipality together with the public transport operator and the public waste collector have implemented an Action Plan on sanitary safety in public transport. The Action Plan includes measures dedicated to public transport users, transport operator staff and transport infrastructure in the context of Covid-19 pandemic: epidemiological screening of employees at the beginning of working hours by checking their temperature; installing a protective screen made of transparent acrylic board to separate the driver from the rest of the passangers; provision of sanitary protection materials (masks, gloves, sanitary alcohol) and disinfection of the bus driver; installation of a disinfectant dispenser in each bus; disinfection at each end of the line of the supporting elements in the bus; introduction of compulsory wearing of protective masks by the bus driver and passengers; arrangement of the available space in buses by marking with pictograms the distance of 1.5m and marking the driver's area; disinfection of buses every evening in the bus depot with Biocide substance; weekly disinfection of buses by a specialized company.
Also, Buzau Municipality built 81 additional passenger stations in order to provide social distance conditions for passengers from the stations and 15 km cycles paths.
Moreover, raising awareness campaigns have been carried out by Buzau Municipality and the transport operator regarding the use of public transport means.
Resources needed
Investment of 800.000 EUR- construction of additional passenger stations by Buzau Municipality; app. 130.000 EUR for procurement of sanitary materials and disinfection services provided by specialized companies.
Evidence of success
- 81 additional passenger stations
- 5 km of cycle paths
The measures have contributed to the reduction of the risk of COVID infection among public transport staff and passengers - Buzau being one of the municipalities in Romania with the lowest number of illness.
Potential for learning or transfer
The good practice represents a measure taken by the local public authority in order to reduce the risk of spreading the COVID infection among the citizens. There can be transferred to other regions the tools used to communicate with the public transport users and the transport operator in order to quickly adapt to the new conditions imposed by pandemic and the way the Municipality acted to overcome the difficulties encountered along the process to change the travellers’ behaviour.
Further information
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.