For 15 years, 47-old Annammal* had the same routine. The flower seller in Chennai would take a bus every morning at 4.30am to the Koyambedu market to buy flowers for the day. Annammal would begin stringing together the flowers on the bus and would continue even after reaching her place of work - a makeshift shop on a pavement in Thiruvanmiyur.
But the past four months have been hard on her. With no buses plying owing to COVID-19 restrictions, and with the flower market shut in Koyambedu and shifted to Madhavaram, procuring flowers has not only been difficult but an expensive affair. She has been forced to depend on private vehicles or on auto-rickshaws to travel to and from the flower market.
Annammal’s story is similar to thousands of people who depend on Chennai’s public transport systems, mainly the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses. The government of Tamil Nadu suspended public transport services across the state in the last week of March as a part of its statewide lockdown implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In May, the state government divided Tamil Nadu into eight zones and permitted limited bus operations within the zones. However, services continued to remain suspended in Chennai, which was a COVID-19 hotspot. As cases started increasing in other parts of the state, the Tamil Nadu government suspended bus operations. A district collector had earlier told TNM that the opening up of bus services within the same zone had contributed to the spread of COVID-19, as people moved between districts.
However, states like Karnataka and several countries worldover have gradually resumed public transport services. With the livelihood of several daily wage workers dependent on public transportation, the question is - should the Tamil Nadu government consider limited resumption of bus services?
Dr T Jacob John, eminent virologist and former professor at Christian Medical College, Vellore said that during an epidemic, the benefits and the risks (of public health intervention) must be distributed equally among the citizens. “It cannot be biased in favour of some and unfavourable to others. That is the sacred duty of any democratic government. Apply this principle for banning public transport. If it is biased, then it is unethical in public health,” he said.
He noted that the government must seriously consider resuming public transport services after setting up all necessary precautionary measures.
“Democratic governments must apply principles of ‘equity of risks and benefits of intervention’ and ‘public health ethics’ in countering disease epidemics,” Dr Jacob John said. He also indicated that the shutdown of public transport services has struck a fatal blow to the livelihoods of many who solely depend on them but has not affected those in the middle and upper echelons of the economic ladder.
Public transport experts like J Sivasubramaniam point to how the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has been operating. With a fleet size of around 7,500 buses, BMTC has been operating 4,000 buses on a daily basis, with precautions like no standees and compulsory wearing of masks, J Sivasubramaniam, Manager, Transport Systems, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) said.
“I believe with ample precautions, we can start operating buses. Masking, hand sanitisers and no standees can be a few of those precautions that can be followed to ensure safety,” he added.
Singapore’s National Development Minister Lawrence Wong had, in May, explained what changes should be made while deciding on reopening public transport systems in Singapore. He had said that ramping up the fleet capacity, working with businesses to regulate the office hours to ensure lesser crowding of buses during peak hours and implementing measures like wearing masks and prohibiting interaction between passengers or on the phone while inside the vehicle can help in making bus transport safer amid the pandemic.
Referring to these measures, Sivasubramaniam said that if steps are not taken to resume public transport services in a staggered manner, with obvious safety precautions, then it is highly possible that people might end up moving towards private transport modes like motorbikes and cars.
“After Bharat Stage-6 regulations came into force, companies selling Bharat Stage-4 vehicles (an older version of the engine) are focussed on clearing the existing stock. Hence, the availability of personal vehicles at a highly discounted price is common, which would motivate people to buy those and use. This will end up causing more congestion on the roads and more air pollution in cities,” he pointed out.
Speaking to TNM about the current plan, a senior officer at the Transport Department said that the government has not discussed the possibility of reopening public transport yet.
“I agree that livelihoods are getting affected, but as of now, the government has not even discussed this. Our fleets are ready for safe operations and we just need to get the go-ahead from the government,” the officer added.
Dr Jacob John highlighted that when there are actions that a government can take that would be beneficial to the people and still act against the spread of the virus, then priority must be given to those actions. He added that a government’s choice to stick to a strict and rigid course of action, which puts the most vulnerable population at a disadvantageous position, can be justified only when the impact is tangible and visible. “Since the epidemic has not been abruptly stopped, no justification remains for the choice made already,” he pointed out.