KUALA LUMPUR – As Covid-19 cases continue to surge at an alarming rate, standard operating procedures (SOP) for public transportation may need to be reviewed.
Checks by The Vibes found that light rail transit (LRT) commuters did not adhere to social distancing during the morning rush hour.
Some of the stations that were surveyed include KL Sentral, Pasar Seni, and Masjid Jamek.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends keeping a minimal one-metre distance between people to prevent the virus from spreading through coughs, sneezes or speech.
Yesterday morning’s checks at each station, however, gave the impression as if daily life had returned to pre-Covid normalcy, where straphangers huddled in the narrow enclosures.
Lines to demarcate queue distances were either barely visible or missing, escalators took on dozens of commuters at one time, while those in trains moved and stood shoulder-to-shoulder.
In the carriages, no seats were marked with an 'X' signage to encourage distance, and questions remain as to whether the handlebars hanging from above are sanitised.
On the station platforms, there were barely any supervisors in sight, despite a sign which indicated otherwise.
Commuter fears
A commuter who wanted to be known as Amir, from Shah Alam, said he was worried over the lack of social distancing in LRTs, especially after Tuesday’s announcement that Malaysia recorded a daily high of 691 new Covid-19 positive cases.
What unnerved Amir, however, was Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah’s announcement that a one-year-old girl was among the four deaths recorded that day.
“I have a four-month-old baby at home. So news of a toddler dying of Covid-19 is certainly worrying. I use the LRT daily to commute to work,” said Amir.
“I wear face masks, use hand sanitisers after each journey, and wash up before interacting with family at home.
“Other than that, there is nothing much we can do because we still have to go to work and come home.”
Meanwhile, another daily commuter who declined to be named expressed similar concerns about packed carriages.
“I travel to and from Ara Damansara and KL Sentral on alternate weeks, and the carriages are often packed, and social distancing is not observed,” she said.
“How often are the handlebars at the stations, and handrails in the trains sanitised?”
SOP Compliance
Despite concerns raised, LRT operator Prasarana Malaysia Bhd insists that the company was merely adhering to advisories and instructions set by the government to reduce risks of infections.
“Under the SOPs set (by the relevant) ministries, we are allowed to operate at 100% capacity,” Prasarana head of media affairs Azhar Ghazali told The Vibes.
“Hence, we (Prasarana) can take in full capacity in our trains... similar (to what is being done) with KTM (Komuter).”
But the company continues to advise commuters to practise self-precautionary measures, Azhar added.
To be sure, there are measures in place such as entry protocols in certain stations, including a Prasarana staffer checking the phones of commuters to ensure each one of them had checked-in with the MySejahtera contact-tracing application.
Seating benches located on the platforms of certain stations were marked with signages that prevented commuters from sitting too closely, while announcements reminding commuters to wear masks at all times were aired every few minutes.
But given the recent spike in coronavirus cases, maybe stricter SOPs are warranted such as during the early days' post-movement control order in May, where Prasarana put in place tighter measures including limiting the number of boarding passengers and safe-distance seating. - The Vibes, October 8, 2020
