A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies (2021)

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14 More information is found under “Play: Restore Public Confidence.” Challenges A pandemic presents DOTs and transit agencies with challenges—some unfamiliar—that must be overcome. Unknown risks and trade­offs may require new ways of doing regular jobs and communicating with one another and may bring new partners and stakeholders to the table. The greatest of these challenges is the ongoing need to balance safety with service, a challenge transportation agencies wrestle with every day. During a pandemic, that balancing must be done while dealing with uncertainty—in science and what is known (with regard to the disease); in policy (with regard to the response and capabilities of agencies and stakeholders); and in behavioral, social, and political spheres (affecting changes in both attitudes and behaviors of individuals but also agencies, firms, organizations, and communities). The remainder of this chapter discusses other major challenges agencies have experienced during COVID­19. Within these challenges are kernels of opportunity to emerge stronger, more resilient, more compassionate, and more connected as agencies and as individuals. Fear and Loss of Confidence in Safety Pandemics can trigger feelings of powerlessness, discomfort, and insecurity. Much about the most effective steps to reduce or even eliminate risks in pandemics is unseen and unknown, which, in turn, can affect the perception of safety. Fears and concerns of employees and the traveling public influence their work and travel decisions. Some of those fears are grounded in fact; some are not. According to Dr. Thomas Matte, Senior Science Advisor for Environmental Health at Vital Strategies, a global public health organization, “the public perceptions and press coverage of COVID­19 transmission risk in transit has created more fear than is warranted by the evidence.”10 Nevertheless, transportation workers can be at risk for exposure in the workplace, even with the known risks mitigated through protective actions. Managing the fears of employees and the public is a major challenge during a pandemic. Fears can be fed by lack of information and rumors. Transportation agencies must demonstrate their “safety first” culture by visibly adhering to and enforcing science­based health guidelines within their authority. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and other organizations recommend establishing credibility by following public health guidelines from official sources.11 The Maryland Department of Transportation–Maryland Transit Administra­ tion (Maryland DOT–MTA) had a registered nurse from its operations department speak to every department and each frontline shift to provide information about COVID­19 and explain related Maryland DOT–MTA processes.12 Keeping employees and passengers informed and empowered makes a difference. As pandemic testing and infection rates ebb and flow, region to region and season to season, and as health advisories change, transportation agencies must be transparent and forthcoming with employees C H A P T E R 4

Challenges 15 and the public about risks, exposure levels [notifying employees and the public about potential exposure according to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidelines], and what the agency is doing to keep employees and the public safe. Above all, the agency can emphasize the social contract of mutual respect and consideration that employees and the public must adhere to for keeping one another safe. Instituting concrete measures and communicating what is being done will provide reassurance to both employees and the public. High­visibility cleaning and strong health communications campaigns coupled with universal mask wearing will help reassure passengers that they can return to a safe transit system. APTA launched a national “Health and Safety Commitments” program for transit agencies.13 The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), along with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and New Jersey Transit, imple­ mented “Operation Respect,” a multilayered strategy to encourage customer compliance with universal face covering on the region’s trains, buses, and commuter rails.14 Morale and Trust Pandemics affect employees in many ways. Almost everyone’s regular work routine is severely disrupted. During COVID­19, some are now performing tasks that are quite different from their regular job, for example, assisting the state with surge needs in other agencies or conducting specific pandemic­related data collection tasks. In some states, employees may face furloughs. These impacts all affect employee morale. Maintaining or rebuilding morale is a multi­ faceted and long­term effort that requires trust between the agency and its employees. During COVID­19, most agencies have had very good outcomes with remote work forces, which funda­ mentally is an exercise in mutual trust.15 Transparency with employees is paramount. An agency must stay in close touch with employees, and with the union, if applicable, to be aware of employee issues and address them as much as possible. Employees must know that their safety and concerns are as important to the agency as “getting the work out.” Some agencies are designating a staff member to be responsible for responding to COVID­19 concerns or are establishing a convenient means of collecting those concerns, such as the existing safety hotline the Maryland DOT–MTA has used.16 Some seemingly small things can make a real difference. Providing “pizza days” or other morale boosters for in­house or field staff, for example, lets employees know they are appreciated.17 Loss of Team Building and Interaction During a pandemic, agencies may transform into virtual operations for large portions of their workforce—planners, engineers, administrators, and more. Maintenance and other field crews may be isolated from their peers into smaller units. Virtual meetings and on­line inter­ actions become more common than the face­to­face interactions and idea exchanges that are a major part of many normal DOT and transit agency work activities. During the COVID­19 pandemic, some agencies have found that interactions through existing or ramped­up technologies were better than before. For example, instead of quarterly in­person meetings, weekly or monthly briefings with key staff have been held. However, the loss of opportunities for informal interactions and for team­building experiences created challenges for many agencies. Agencies took a range of approaches to address these challenges. Some agencies designated specific sessions—for example, Friday sessions in which staff shared stories to get to know More information is found under “Play: Employee Impact” and “Play: Communications.”

16 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies one another better on a personal as well as professional level. Other agencies posted photos of employees working during the pandemic. Stress and Psychological Impacts The unprecedented long­term nature of a pandemic and the uncertainty it brings creates stress. Along with work and financial stressors, many employees are dealing with worries about family members’ health and/or employment status. Many are also juggling childcare responsibil­ ities including supervising remote learning or home schooling. Areas may experience concurrent events, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, or wildfire, compounding the stress their employees or family members are experiencing. Long­term stress is physically and psychologically harmful. Trauma causes people to “go to the emotional basement” and cuts off higher skills in favor of survival skills.18 Agencies must recognize this. Employees may want to press through without a break, but the agency must recognize the imperative for employees to rest and recuperate. Agencies can modify schedules to allow staff to take needed time to address family concerns and reduce stress. The use of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) can be encouraged, and additional mental health resources should be made readily available if necessary. Agencies can work with the group health care provider to waive co­pays, if necessary. Guidance is available from national health organizations, such as the CDC19 and National Drug & Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA),20 on managing stress and anxiety during COVID­19. Funding Pandemics create an immediate reduction in agency revenue (tolls, fares, sales taxes, gas taxes) as travel shuts down. This reduction is compounded by the long­term impacts of potential reductions in federal and state funding. Most agencies already have faced significant revenue losses due to COVID­19. Diversification of funding sources is critical. In addition to direct user fees, agencies can consider the use of additional tolling, annual fixed user fees on electric vehicles, transitions to road user charging programs, and use of rainy­day funds. There is the potential for cost savings when agency employees and the general public work from home. The reduction in vehicle miles traveled may reduce the need for expensive congestion relief projects. Federal assistance is essential. Agencies must be proactive in learning about and under­ standing any changed or expanded eligibility of existing federal assistance programs such as the FHWA and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) emergency relief programs. For COVID­19, FTA emergency relief funding was expanded for emergency­related capital and operating expenses, including the provision of PPE in states where the governor has declared an emergency.21 For major national emergencies, Congress may pass legislation providing additional funding. In response to COVID­19, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act allocated $2.2 trillion in support to individuals, businesses, and organizations affected by the pandemic and economic downturn. Transportation agencies were eligible for CARES Act funding for operating and capital expenses.22 Documenting damages related to a pandemic is critical, both for existing federal funding and in the event that future federal funding or grant opportunities become available. More information is found under “Play: Financial Management.” More information is found under “Play: Employee Impact.”

Challenges 17 Unintended Consequences Well­intended actions for public safety may have unintended consequences. Closing rest areas to limit the spread of a pandemic may save costs and protect workers, but long­distance truckers, interstate logistics, and critical supply chains are adversely impacted by this policy. DOTs have responded in various ways to the needs of truckers during COVID­19—some opened selected rest areas and weigh stations for overnight parking, some set up temporary portable toilets and kept rest areas as a whole closed, some allowed food trucks to operate in rest areas, and most kept truckers informed through established information networks. Transit agencies instituted new contactless fare policies to reduce interactions between riders and operators. Some eliminated fares altogether. Concern arose that the free services were encouraging undesired behaviors. In Cincinnati, officials reinstituted fares to discourage people from violating Ohio’s stay­at­home order.23 In Philadelphia, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) had to change its approach to enforcing mask requirements after the release of a widely shared video of a passenger being removed from a bus for not wearing a face covering.24 DOTs and transit agencies should consult with their in­house experts, federal partners, and other key external stakeholders in a timely fashion before implementing broad new policies. Monitoring the implementation of policies and making timely adjustments when necessary will minimize the impacts of unintended consequences.