- By Patty Poist
- Around Town
Print 
Along with significant route changes and added service for the new academic year, riders can expect to see a major emphasis on passenger safety protocols when Tompkins County Area Transit (TCAT) rolls out its fall service on Sun., Aug. 30.
Working with community, state and federal partners, TCAT has been fine-tuning pandemic safety measures it started putting in place in early March just before the first coronavirus case was confirmed in Tompkins County.
TCAT planners designed fall service in anticipation of changing ridership patterns and with social distancing norms in mind. To accommodate increasing ridership, TCAT has raised the maximum number of riders per bus to 25 and continues to work with transit peers to determine an optimal head count per bus by weighing both safety and system efficiency. In the meantime, TCAT is providing back-up buses whenever possible to handle overflow.
Also of note, TCAT will begin collecting fares starting Sun., Sept. 6 as driver safety shields will be installed to separate riders from drivers who sit next to the farebox.
v16i35