OC Transpo first Canadian transit agency to participate in APTA “Health and Safety Commitments” Program

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OC Transpo is the first Canadian transit agency to join the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) “Health and Safety Commitments Program,” the public transportation industry’s overarching pledge to passengers that public transit systems are taking all the necessary measures to operate safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, OC Transpo has worked tirelessly to keep customers and employees as safe as possible. By signing on to the APTA Health and Safety Commitments Program with more than 100 public transit systems, OC Transpo and the public transit industry are actively working to instill confidence in riders that it’s committed to protecting their health and safety.

The program was developed after asking transit users from across the country what measures would make them feel more confident riding public transportation amid concerns about COVID-19. From this research, the industry identified four key areas that transit systems need to address to earn riders’ confidence:

• Following public health guidelines from official sources
• Cleaning and disinfecting transit vehicles frequently and requiring face coverings and other protections
• Keeping passengers informed and empowered to choose the safest times and routes to ride
• Putting health first by requiring riders and employees to avoid public transit if they have been exposed to COVID-19 or feel ill

OC Transpo has pledged to continually meet these commitments and has earned the Seal of Commitment by adopting practices and policies that make sense for our transit system, riders and community. A key component of the Health and Safety Commitments Program is the shared responsibility of our system and our riders to follow the guidelines. Riders rely on us to follow these commitments, and OC Transpo relies on riders to protect themselves and other customers.

We’re all in this together. OC Transpo remains committed to the highest standards of health and safety. We’re following official public health guidelines; we ask riders to continue following them, too.

The Seal of Commitment will be displayed across the OC Transpo transit system soon.

For more information on APTA’s Health and Safety Commitments Program, visit APTA.com. For more information on City programs and services, visit ottawa.ca or call 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401). You can also connect with us through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Quotes

“Congratulations to the entire OC Transpo team for being part of the APTA Health and Safety Commitments Program. The Seal of Commitment that you will see across the transit system can instill further confidence in customers that OC Transpo is upholding the highest standards when it comes to keeping its employees and customers as safe as possible.”

Mayor Jim Watson, City of Ottawa

“OC Transpo has shown itself to be an industry leader in the Canadian transit agency arena – it was the first agency to implement rear-door boarding at the onset of the pandemic, the first to implement mandatory masks, and now the first to make the pledge and earn APTA’s Seal of Commitment. I want to thank the entire OC Transpo team for their tireless efforts and dedication throughout this pandemic and applaud them on their APTA “seal” of approval. Well done!”

Councillor Allan Hubley, Chair, Transit Commission

“This program is a commitment that this industry is making to all those we serve now and to those who we look forward to serving. Public transportation is and will be vital to the social and economic recovery of our nation. But getting there requires us to win back our ridership and encourage new riders to view public transit as a preferred mobility choice. We believe this commitment program will help do this.”

Nuria I. Fernandez, APTA Chair, and General Manager and CEO of Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

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