GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Starting Monday, The Rapid will no longer limit their passengers to 15 riders at a time. In April, the bus service announced the capacity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also starting Aug. 31, six routes that were previously scaled back and running every 60 minutes are now bumped up to run every 30 minutes.
Bill Kirk is the Business Affairs Specialist with The Rapid. He believes lifting the capacity will not translate to packed buses. One major reason is because ridership has significantly declined from last year.
"We’re in line with what we’re seeing in transit across the country," said Kirk. "Our ridership is down about 65 percent. So, we don’t see crowded buses now, and we didn’t want to leave people at a bus stop and unable to get to a job or medical appointment."
RELATED: Bus drivers push for more routes, protective gear after The Rapid reduces passenger capacity
In the beginning of the pandemic, The Rapid's ridership was down between 80 and 90 percent from normal. So, that has increased over the past few months, but not to a level it once was.
Operators will monitor the number of riders on a daily basis. Kirk said his team will also watch out for any buses that are busier than allowing for distancing at a particular time, and address that situation individually.
Most Rapid buses seat around 40 people. Kirk doesn't believe they will get anywhere near that amount. Prior to lifting the capacity, he said buses would drive past riders waiting at bus stops, if the bus already had 15 passengers on it.
"For a lot of people, The Rapid is their only transportation option for work, for medical appointments, or to get to the grocery store," said Kirk, "So, we see our role in supporting recovery is making sure that service is there for people who need it and make sure it’s safe for people."
The Rapid has about 150 buses in its fleet, but not all are on the road at the same time.
All riders must wear a mask on the buses, if they are medically able. At the end of the day, the buses are sanitized with an electrostatic spray, a disinfectant, and a high temperature steam cleaning. A cleaning crew will also hop on the bus when it reaches Central Station to wipe down high trafficked areas during the day.
If a rider does not have a mask, there are some available at Central Station.
Another factor in lifting the capacity limit is the new Laker Line bus route. The Rapid works to make capacity decisions for that route by working with partners at Grand Valley State University.
"They are not anticipating the same level of ridership they would normally see in an academic year," said Kirk, "So, just like our regular fixed route, we’ll keep an eye on it, but we don’t expect those routes to be very crowded either."
RELATED: Laker Line service starts August 24
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