Public transportation according to CBO.org costs the state and federal government 441 billion dollars a year. The money goes to infrastructure improvement and repairs and oddly includes water infrastructure as well. But the question is how did Covid-19 change the way public transportation operated. According to Alex Keene a Loyal-Chicago junior immediately restrictions were made known to the general public. This included signs explaining mask mandates for anyone on public transportation and designated areas to stand or sit while maintaining social distancing regulations. In his opinion, the number of people using Chicago transport noticeably decreased at the start of the pandemic and has slowly gotten closer to the amount before the pandemic. Interestingly he noted that taking public transportation feels less safe overall because you are putting yourself in a situation that you usually can’t social distance.
Unlike Chicago where public transportation is heavily used and earns a profit, places like my home town of Normal Illinois suspended bus fees for an entire year starting the last April. This has been widely appreciated by the community that has to rely on the bus system. Although it is a small percentage of the population it allows people to save a considerable amount of their income while not affecting the taxpayers to a point that it would be rejected. The town has recently discussed the possibility of making certain types of transportation free for good. This could be considered an actual positive outcome from Covid-19 that would have a lasting impact on a segment of the population that needs it.
My third example was provided by Elise Carter, a junior at Colorado university who has to take the train often while going to class and work. Her experiences differ dramatically from the student in Chicago. In her opinion, there is little to no regulation with the majority of people not wearing masks or socially distancing. The farther she gets from Denver the more lax restrictions seem to get. There was also limited signage making the population aware of the current mask mandate furthering the overall relaxed mentality. Being a young person in good health she hasn’t been worried by the conditions, but voiced concern that it could make the pandemic last even longer than it should.
All in all, it seems that there have been some attempts by local and state governments to stop the spread of Covid, but the regulations only seem to be followed in more densely populated communities. There could be many reasons for these differing situations like police presence, education about Covid, or availability of masks.
Source:
Public spending on transportation and water infrastructure, 1956 to 2017. (2018, October 15). Retrieved March 24, 2021, from https://www.cbo.gov/publication/54539#:~:text=In%202017%2C%20spending%20by%20federal,water%20infrastructure%20totaled%20%24441%20billion.
selidbe beograd