Transportation is a huge part of the economy. Some people rely on it as a job, while some use it to reach their workplaces. At the beginning of the pandemic, when the specifics of the virus were unknown, public transportations temporarily halted to mitigate the risk and contain the virus. Now that it’s common knowledge that the virus transmits from being in close contact with infected individuals and unsanitary surfaces, social distancing is crucial even in already crowded public utility vehicles.
Although public transportation is still not back to its regular one hundred percent operations, they are now, more or less, running regularly but within safety protocols administered by the government and health institutions. If you have a short trip scheduled in the upcoming days or weeks, below are the available transportation modes you can choose.
Car Rental Services
Even though this service will have you sharing a ride with your driver, it’s still relevantly safe compared to other transit modes as long as you maintain the proper distance and wear protective gear. If you do not know how to drive or choose to leave your car at home due to the long-distance, you’d have to travel, renting a ridesharing service such as Grab, Lyft, and Uber is the most viable option for you.
Low Carbon Alternatives
Given that people usually rely on public transportation to reach their destinations, it’s safe to assume that most folks don’t own a car. During the pandemic surge, people took to low-carbon alternatives to get to their workplace or drop by establishments to acquire their essentials. In most countries, bicycles are now generally seen on major roads, which brought significant improvements.
Considering that bikes are now essential for people, local government units took it upon them to make roads safer for bicycle riders by giving them their lane and installing reflectors on the road.
Public Transportation
With shuttling hundreds of people a day, public transportation is one of the breeding grounds of bacteria and microbes, making you highly vulnerable to the virus should you decide to ride them. But if you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to solo rides and want to refrain from riding your car as much as possible, taking the subway and buses is the best way for you.
For peace of mind, public transits are being sanitized and cleansed every trip to eliminate bacteria traces, making them a safe option. Even with the high infection risk, you can be safe from the virus if you wear the proper PPE, sanitize properly, practice social distancing, and follow other health protocols.
Driving Alone
Riding your car and heading toward your destination is probably the safest out of all your options. But driving solo also presents invisible risks. When you drive alone, especially for long trips, you can’t help but make stopovers for food, gas, or drop by a public restroom, and any stop that’s teeming or used by people is guaranteed to house bacteria and microbes.
As an effective preventative measure, you can pack food so you don’t have to stop for a snack, fill your tank with plenty of gas enough for a trip back and forth, and find a well-sanitized restroom you can use with ease. Of course, you should also be mindful of wearing your PPE inside or outside your vehicle and make sure to sanitize after each stop.
Traveling By Airplane
A trip out of the country requires you to prepare plenty of things besides wearing the proper PPE. Taking a swab test, getting full shots of vaccine if possible, plus acquiring travel certificates from your home are just some of the requirements you will need. Since it’s a lengthy process, domestic and international travel is still discouraged. But if you’re traveling for something important, the best you can do is adhere to health protocols.
Once you manage to board your flight, you should also keep your distance from other passengers as much as possible to stay safe from the virus, even if you’re already vaccinated.
Delivery Companies
If you’re one of the lucky few individuals who got to work from home, you don’t need to think about how you’re going to get to work each day safely. Instead, you have to face another problem: how you’ll get your essentials. You can either buy groceries and have them delivered to your doorstep with no trouble. Courier companies are the most reliable delivery services you can tap for this.
But suppose you need some grand-scale transport service like, for instance, you’re planning to move houses and don’t have the right vehicle to handle your belongings. In that case, you can get the help of a reliable moving company to transport your valuables safely.
Despite the availability of vaccines, the end of the pandemic is still far from sight, but by following proper health protocols, everyone can get through this challenging period safely.
