What happens when you don't have a car, and they virtually shut down public transit?

[progree]

Metro Transit (Twin Cities) is asking us to not get on a bus with 10 or more people already on it. (My translation: the bus driver will just drive by if it is at that limit). We are told all we have to do is "just wait" for the next bus and hope it's below 10.. (This is Minneapolis in March, not San Diego or Miami).

https://www.metrotransit.org/metro-transit%E2%80%99s-response-to-covid-19-coronavirus

Well that is fucking fantastic if you live in the core downtown area where there's a bus every 10 minutes. But if its once an hour like it is just 6 miles west of the core of downtown Minneapolis where I live, ... or once in 2 hours .. depending on the time of day and where you are going. (Or not at all after 8 pm or weekends).

Oh, some person on the Metro Transit Facebook page that seems to be an authority or insider says they are also planning to go to Saturday service on weekdays. That eliminates a lot of routes and makes the interval between busses on routes that are still running even longer.

It knocks out a number of possible destinations for me, but with a long walk, I can walk to a route that meanders its way to downtown eventually.

Anyone living just a little west of me beyond feasible walking distance (leaving aside people with mobility issues) to that route is out of luck ... no bus service at all.

I'm getting big bags under my eyes and little sleep with one new problem after another after another after another. The vice is closing ever tighter.

[Native]

1. There are so many things that are not being taken into consideration - it's staggering.

[Kaleva]

2. Life is going to be much different for many over the next several months.

[jberryhill]

3. Where do you want to go?

[cwydro]

4. Check your county's transportation service.

Most counties have them, and they will pick you up at your house and take you to medical appointments, groceries, etc.

[mantis49]

5. My husband is a bus driver for a metro transit system.

We live in the Metro East region of St Louis. We are extremely worried. So far there have been no restrictions on the routes. One of the other drivers tested positive yesterday after returning from a trip to Mexico.

Two physicians at Wash U in St Louis tested positive the yesterday. One of them worked after having symptoms. My niece is a Nurse Practitioner there.

Many of the passengers on my husband's bus route are warehouse workers. Monday the transit system went to having no fares to try to limit the time the driver is in close proximity to passengers getting on. He says his bus is often packed when the shifts are changing at the warehouses.

I think it's time to close it down. I would feel bad for the workers, but at this point my husband's health is more important for me. BTW, we are both high risk, being up there in age. He's healthier overall than I am.