3 ways to improve public transport hygiene in a post-pandemic world

As we’ve entered a post-pandemic world and are beginning to acclimatise to the new normal, many businesses have relaxed their hygiene measures. However, a Traveller Sentiment Survey found that 52% of participants predicted they would continue to feel uncomfortable taking public transit, even when the worst of the pandemic is over.

This is because the pandemic has remoulded our hygiene expectations and sharpened our awareness of contamination and germ transmission. Commuters are far more sceptical about public transport than before the pandemic and these new views are likely here to stay. So, transportation businesses need to respond to this commuter unease and reassure passengers that commuter safety is still at the heart of their operations post pandemic.

The large number of people using public transport and being close together in confined spaces makes hygiene and infection prevention major priorities for operators. People travelling on buses, trains, planes and ferries have to stand or sit close together for long periods, putting them at risk of various infections from others via contaminated surfaces or airborne transmission.

Routes of infection

Public transport passengers can come into contact with multiple surfaces that others touch in places such as where they buy tickets, wait to board, use facilities in a transport hub, move in and out of vehicles and touch railings, grab handles, seats and tables during travel.

Surfaces are also routes of infection from the larger respiratory droplets that quickly fall out of the air and contaminate surfaces near an infected person. Passengers and staff have to share the air in the confined spaces inside vehicles, potentially exchanging respiratory aerosols containing virus particles. These stay afloat – travelling in air currents inside enclosed spaces – and reach people many metres away. Due to their small size, they can enter deep into the lungs and potentially infect tissue there. Measures to protect passengers will help reduce risks from diseases such as Covid, colds, flu, norovirus and a range of bacterial infections.

There are also other risks present that have had less of a focus recently due to the pandemic. Pests, including rodents, flies, biting insects and birds are vectors for many diseases – transmitted in filth on their bodies, droppings, nesting material and bites – and can cause physical damage to buildings and fittings.

Transport operators must take suitable measures to protect the health of staff and passengers in all areas of the transportation network to reassure passengers and staff that they’re safe from infections. 

Here are three broad areas where transportation companies can take action to protect passengers and staff.

1. Disinfection

One of the most important measures transportation businesses can take to safeguard staff and passengers is regularly disinfecting vehicles and premises. 

Specialist disinfection service providers have the training and equipment to ensure the safety of the operators and the public and provide a higher level of treatment. Different levels of disinfection and precautions will be needed depending on the severity of the risk.

• Precautionary: when there’s no confirmed contamination, disinfection is needed to reduce the risk of infection and protect passengers and staff. This can include nightly disinfection of buses and train carriages to maintain hygienic surfaces commonly touched during travel.
• Intermediate: this is similar to the high-level treatment, but the premises or vehicle has been closed or unused for at least three days, so the biosecurity risk is lower. 
• High level: when there’s known contamination, a rapid response and high level of biosecurity are required, including disposal of contaminated waste. Treatments will be more thorough and a report will be provided showing effective and legally compliant procedures were followed.

2. Integrated hygiene measures

Integrated hygiene is a means to protect public and staff areas in a transport network from infection – especially in washrooms. There’s not one route of infection for respiratory viruses, so a package of hygiene measures is essential to break the chain of infection at all possible points. The air, surfaces and hands are all routes of infection – each requiring specific products and procedures to keep them hygienic. 

Air hygiene

Ventilation is the first measure to remove contaminated airborne particles in enclosed spaces, but it requires fresh air to be added to the room – which isn’t always possible in modern buildings – and effective filtration by HVAC systems. Air filtration devices can also be added to a room to remove contaminated aerosols. In washrooms, toilet flushing is the main source of airborne particles contaminated with faecal matter and urine.

Surface hygiene

All commonly touched surfaces need to be kept clean with effective surface hygiene, including door handles, flush handles, taps, countertops and equipment requiring manual operation. The floor is a major repository for airborne droplets and dirt brought in on people’s footwear. Cleaning staff need suitable equipment and solutions for cleaning, sanitising and disinfecting.

Hand hygiene

Provide suitable handwashing facilities in washrooms. A clean, pleasant environment with soap and hand-drying equipment encourages people to wash their hands. Contactless equipment reduces the number of contaminated surfaces people have to touch, including taps and dispensers for soap, hand towels and hand sanitiser. Hand sanitiser stations should also be placed strategically for passengers to disinfect their hands after touching potentially contaminated surfaces while travelling.

3. Pest control

Transportation provides multiple opportunities for pests to shelter, feed and breed. Large buildings with complex designs, many hidden spaces and inaccessible places have a wide range of ideal habitats for urban pests. 

The large, transient human population needs feeding, which places large amounts of food and waste in easy reach. People also carry food around and discard it where pests can easily access it. We, humans, are a source of food for biting insects. Some of these fly and others are human and pest ectoparasites that crawl onto their hosts from seating or find shelter and transport in luggage.

The list of pests is longer than you think!

● Ants: seek food, damage outdoor areas and plants and sting

● Bed bugs: blood-feeding and can infest places where people sit for long periods

● Birds: can foul and damage buildings and are vectors of disease

● Bees: build nests in and around buildings, can sting and damage masonry

● Cockroaches: food pests and vectors of disease

● Flies: food pests and vectors of disease

● Mosquitoes: blood-feeding and are vectors of disease

● Rodents: food pests, vectors of disease and cause physical damage to buildings and equipment

● Wasps: build nests in and around buildings, pose a hazard from stings and some species damage wooden structures

Pests are an ongoing, complex problem for transportation operators, requiring integrated pest management solutions to prevent and detect infestations and damage. Following lockdowns, however, when pests have taken advantage of a lack of disturbance, targeted recovery pest services help deal with specific problems.

Protecting public transport from pest and hygiene risks

Pest and hygiene risks come in all shapes and sizes – from microscopic viruses to rats and seagulls. They can affect all types of public transport, including trains, buses, aircraft and ferries, stations and terminals and all parts of the transportation infrastructure.

Both pest control and a full range of hygiene measures are critical for protecting the health and wellbeing of staff and passengers and preventing buildings and equipment from being damaged. Rentokil Initial’s disinfection, hygiene and pest control solutions provide transport operators with effective ways to reduce the risk of infections and prevent and eradicate pest problems with industry-leading products and services.