COVID-19: How to travel safely on the bus, train, and subway

Navigating public transport during the pandemic, however, is something that even the most experienced commuter has never faced before. Getting around quickly now feels much less important than getting around safely.

So, how might a savvy passenger reduce their risk? There are of course essential things you should do - wear a mask, avoid rush hours if you can, and follow physical distancing guidance in stations and onboard. Following local public health advice is the most important thing, and will reduce your risk significantly.

But there are also less obvious measures that are worth knowing. Insights from transport research and passenger psychology can provide clues - as well as pointing to changes in how we will get around in the months ahead. With a respiratory disease like COVID-19, the more people breathing, coughing, and talking into the same air as you in a confined space, the more chance there is of being infected by the virus.

If you can cycle, walk, or ride a scooter outside to get to work, that's your best option as there is more space to keep your distance from others. Cars are obviously personally safer too, provided you stick to travelling with those in your own household. But if everyone drives it will lead to a "tragedy of the commons" effect of more traffic, and greater environmental cost, so it's difficult to recommend as a socially responsible choice.

If travelling by train, bus, and subway, one factor to consider when plotting your route is how well your method of transport is ventilated, according to Nick Tyler, a transport researcher at University College London, who has modelled the way that the virus propagates through buses. "Outside, in the open air, droplets are dissipated in the air and the wind," he explains. "Once we're inside, you get much less movement. "

Designs differ, but the more windows the better. For this reason, a deep subway is more difficult to ventilate than a train or bus at the surface. According to a 2018 study by Lara Gosce at University College London, people who used the London underground regularly were more likely to suffer flu-like symptoms than those that didn't.

The purpose of Paragraph 4 is to ....
A. show the effects of physical distancing
B. state the importance of implementing physical distancing
C. contradict the idea of physical distancing during pandemic
D. give examples of some of the best ways to commute during pandemic
E. support the previous reason of why we should reduce the frequency of travelling outside