Keeping Winnipeg Transit safe in light of COVID-19
Your role in safe Transit
We are asking our passengers to always practice safe social distancing and take the following steps on Winnipeg Transit buses and at other transit facilities:
- Please avoid riding if you are feeling unwell.
- Maintain a reasonable separation between yourself and others when possible.
- Wearing a non-medical mask that covers your nose, mouth and chin at all times is strongly recommended.
- Be kind to others who may not be able to wear a non-medical mask.
- Practice good hand hygiene by washing your hands before and after riding transit, and refrain from touching your face.
- Exit at the rear door if you are able to reduce crowding. Passengers who need to exit using the front door, such as wheelchair users, can still do so.
- Our operators are covered by shields that are fully deployed at all times to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We ask our passengers to stay back from the shield and to move away from the operator once fare is paid.
Winnipeg Transit welcomes all passengers to take all trips.
Masks strongly recommended on Transit
The City of Winnipeg strongly recommends all individuals to wear a face mask while using Winnipeg Transit or Winnipeg Transit Plus as a means to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our community. This policy also applies to Transit Customer Service Centres and all other City-operated facilities.
While not a replacement for social distancing or hand-washing, the use of face masks is recognized by public health officials as a tool to provide protection against the spread of COVID-19, particularly in settings where social distancing may be a challenge.
Masks or face coverings should not be placed on: any child under the age of two, any person who is unable to remove it without help, or any person who has difficulty breathing.
To be effective, face masks must be worn properly. When face masks are not worn properly, they will not prevent the spread of COVID-19 to others and may also put the wearer at greater risk of infection.
When wearing a face mask, do the following:
- Wash your hands immediately before putting it on and immediately after taking it off
- Practice good hand hygiene while wearing the face mask
- Ensure your face mask fits well (doesn’t gape) and covers your nose, mouth, and chin
- Do not share your face mask with others
- Avoid touching your mask or face while wearing the face mask
- If you need to adjust your face mask, wash your hands immediately afterwards
- Do not dangle your face mask from one ear, or pull it below your nose or your mouth so that it is covering your chin
- For more information on how to wear a face mask properly, please visit the Health Canada website
Face masks can become contaminated on the outside, or when touched by your hands. Avoid touching your face mask while wearing it, change your mask as soon as it is damp or soiled. While medical face masks can be disposed of following use, reusable non-medical masks must be placed into a bag or washing machine and appropriately laundered on a hot cycle, dried thoroughly, and stored.
Our response to COVID-19
As part of our ongoing commitment to the health, safety and comfort of our passengers, we’ve implemented a variety of new measures, including:
- Bringing in an enhanced cleaning program, which sees all buses treated with a hospital grade sanitizer at least once every 72 hours, using electrostatic sprayers aimed primarily at high-touch point areas.
- Mandating operators drive with their shields fully deployed.
- Displaying digital messages on bus exteriors to reinforce the practice of social distancing and mask wearing.
- Continuing to share messages on social media outlining social distancing precautions to be taken by Winnipeg Transit users.
More information about safety measures in place to protect members of the public and employees is available on the City of Winnipeg website.
