A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies (2021)

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

18 Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions In an emergency, transportation agencies need to protect employees and customers, ensure continuity of operations, realign service to meet changes in demand, secure additional funding and assets, enhance communications with all stakeholders, and train and educate employees on response duties. All this must be accomplished while the systemic and structural resilience of the transportation system is ensured. The emergency management plays in this section identify key capabilities and activities to assist an agency in performing those critical actions. Each one provides key actions and con­ siderations to assist an agency in determining its own approach based on the agency’s own goals, priorities, and resources. Exemplary practices, with actionable detail, of surface transportation agencies during COVID­19 are included. The intent is to enable all agencies to incorporate and improve their currently existing processes and procedures and to develop additional approaches to address gaps, contingencies, or new hazards as necessary. Table 6 provides an overview of the plays contained in this section, by mission area and by category. C H A P T E R 5

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 19 Mission Area Play Category Play Page Preparedness Planning/Training Planning, Training, and Exercises 20 Protection/ Mitigation Employee Impact Employee Impact 22 Protective Actions Pandemic Protective Actions Pandemic Public Transit Protective Actions 24 26 Situational Awareness Situational Awareness and Reporting 30 Communications Communications Restore Public Confidence 34 38 Response Actions Traffic Management Service Operations Adjustments 40 42 Evacuations/Shelter- in-Place Pandemic Impact 46 Financial Financial Management 48 Emergency Support Function 1 and Community Support Agency Stabilization 50 52 Lessons Learned ALL Multiple Events Concurrent Emergencies with Pandemics 55 Response Recovery Table 6. Plays by mission area and category.

20 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies Improve and Update Planning • Pandemic plans (who does what) are a variation of existing plans such as the COOP and emergency response plans. • Pandemic vulnerability assessment is different: – Infrastructure is undamaged; people are at risk. – Often longer term than a typical event. – Essential functions can vary. • Cyber plans and weather plans may also be relevant. • Operational plans (how and when) are dynamic and change with phases of the event: – You may want to use the Incident Command System Incident Action Plan format (see Appendix C). – As the event progresses, the operational period may vary (1 day if the pandemic is fast­moving, 1 week or longer if things are not changing rapidly). • You may need to develop a sustainment plan to help you get through a long­term pandemic. • Organizations you support and that support you may be different from normal; account for this in your planning. • Natural, technological, or human­caused disasters still occur during pandemics, so make sure your plans consider multiple hazards. Conduct Training • In addition to ongoing training, you may want to conduct short training interventions specific to job responsibilities in the pandemic phase, for example: – Toolbox talks with operational staff, – Distance learning for teleworking staff, and – On­site talks by health experts who can help respond to staff questions and concerns. • Cross-train staff so they can perform different functions. • You may be using new software or collaboration tools. Make sure staff has an opportunity to train on them. • Your organization may need to perform new functions requiring staff training, such as contact tracing or supporting other state organization surge responsibilities, for example, unemployment claims. • Use the opportunity for teleworking to facilitate taking online training programs and courses, such as those offered by FEMA and FHWA. Do Exercises • Short tabletop exercises can be valuable. Good topics include – Employee rights and protections, – Distribution of PPE to employees and customers, and – Distribution of vaccines or other medical supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile. • Longer tabletop exercises can incorporate full pandemic considerations into planning for more typical emergencies such as hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, flooding, and tornadoes. • Involve partner organizations, such as the health department, in your exercises and partici­ pate in theirs. PLAY: Planning, Training, and Exercises MISSION AREA MODE EVENTS Preparedness All Pandemic

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 21 The Colorado DOT completed a tabletop exercise early in the pandemic considering responsibilities and authorities and anticipating issues ranging from making sure to protect personally identifiable information when reporting health statistics to recommendations regarding PPE. Caltrans conducted an exercise regarding distribution of elements of the Strategic National Stockpile.

22 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies Overview Employee health and safety are paramount in a pandemic. Like other events, pandemics impact employees’ availability for work because of family circumstances, illness, and safety. During pandemics, exposure or illness in the family may require isolation or quarantine. COVID­19 community lockdowns disrupted schools and daycare centers, which created childcare issues for many employees. Work responsibilities change as tasks are halted or reduced while new tasks emerge. Establish Appropriate Policies • Address absenteeism, including family sick leave. Your organization may provide addi­ tional sick leave or other paid time off for employees who are required to quarantine for a designated period. You may choose to institute more flexible sick leave and other leave policies to encourage employees to stay home when they are feeling ill. • Establish compliance requirements and standards regarding the use of PPE and respiratory protection. • Confirm and communicate requirements and guidelines for personnel health information related to HIPAA and personally identifiable information. • Assign staff nontraditional functions on a temporary basis. • Work with public health officials regarding testing or vaccinating your employees and families. Demonstrate Good Leadership and Employee Relations • Executives should support “demonstrable, long-term, substantive commitment” to enhance organization morale (Figure 2). Leadership, especially CEOs, play a critical role. • Create clear expectations for employees through Human Resources with worker and union input (Figure 3). Provide reasonable accommodation regarding performance of certain tasks in consideration of personal safety or health risks. PLAY: Employee Impact MISSION AREA MODE EVENTS Protection/ Mitigation All Pandemic Source: Frank Wyszynski, Senior Communications and Marketing Specialist. Figure 2. Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) advertisement, April 2020. Source: Colorado Department of Transportation. Figure 3. Colorado Department of Transportation guidance for supervisors.

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 23 The Kansas DOT reported that a significant number of employees have spouses who are essential service workers, some of whom are frequently exposed to COVID. To accommodate their needs, the organization expanded the availability of telework.25 The Vermont Agency of Transportation (Vermont AOT) recognized morale problems in employees temporarily reassigned to track crossings at state borders and so rotated the duty so that it would not fall disproportionately on a few. The Vermont AOT helped furloughed employees with their unemployment claims.26 The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) was sensitive to many experiences of event impacts on employees, engaged its workers in brainstorming options, and attempted to address as much as possible. The agency even considered providing day care at agency locations but recognized that it would not be wise.27 Caltrans engaged a professional worker stress program to work with employees.28 The Maryland DOT–MTA created an electronic system to track employee health status and do contact tracing. The system was based on an agency application already in development that could be modified for new purposes, which resulted in less time and development costs. The Maryland DOT–MTA used an existing Safety Management System phone line for tracking/monitoring employee status as a COVID hotline.29 To meet new needs and to keep workers employed, Charlevoix County Transit, Michigan, began new services such as providing free rides for school food programs, food delivery, and a new food shopping/delivery service for seniors and people with disabilities.30 • Work with employees and unions to establish safe work processes and procedures. Be alert for improvements as changes in public health guidance or new opportunities are presented. • Encourage employees to stay home when sick to avoid exposing others. Have a simple system to aggregate and report employee absences following HIPAA guidelines. • Reinforce information on family disaster preparedness. Make sure family notification procedures and survivorship choices are updated for all employees. • Recognize stress and psychological impacts and provide support services for stress reduction. Make sure employees understand how to access programs as needed. • Try to keep staff working, if possible. Assign staff nontraditional functions on a temporary basis and facilitate working from home, if possible. Recognize and address potential morale impacts of new or different duties. If furloughs are necessary, be open and honest with employees about decisions and future expectations. • Keep lines of communications available with employees up and down the chain so you can identify issues early and adjust if advisable. If not, explain why not. Continue communicating with furloughed employees and help them gain government assistance if available. • Have good methods for tracking employee availability and accountability while providing flexibility for family needs and multiple priorities. • Have good mechanisms for letting employees know about new policies and procedures. • Explain how employees will be evaluated during the pandemic. • Document policy and procedure successes and failures for future reference and lessons learned.

24 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies Overview During a pandemic, voluntary or mandatory protective actions may be required to ensure the safety of employees and passengers. Because employees’ work requirements may differ, different types of protective actions may be necessary. Many agency positions require physical presence and public interaction—for example, bus, train, or ferry operators; train conductors; flight attendants and some customer service and supervisor positions; security personnel or safety inspectors; high­ way or vehicle maintenance crews; port specialists or laborers; and airline baggage crews. Apply General Public Health Principles to Protect Everyone • Follow credible health authority guidance, which can include social distancing; requiring the wearing of masks in common areas in the workplace and on the job; regular handwashing and surface disinfection; and quarantine in the event of symptoms, potential exposure, or confirmed infection. • Develop active health monitoring and contact tracing for employees who become ill or are exposed to an active infection. Communicate employee tracking plans. • Establish clear policies and procedures on PPE, procuring and using supplies or equipment (e.g., cleaning or fogging), and training. • Involve employees in developing safety protocols. Facilitate feedback on effective procedures and available alternatives. • Monitor complacency and weariness with restrictions as a pandemic continues, as these may prove a major impediment to compliance and contribute to a resurgence of disease rates. Facilitate Remote Work for Positions That Are Suitable • Consider providing laptops, webcams, headphones, and other equipment for employees eligible for remote work to facilitate the transition. • In addition to providing computers for employees, consider letting them take their office chair home. Employees may appreciate this consideration. Be sure to maintain good records on all equipment leaving the workplace. • When examining software policies and programs, consider expanding collaborative soft­ ware options. Many recent technology improvements facilitate group work, regardless of location. • Consider implementing hot spots for Internet connectivity and, where possible, set them up or allow employees to set them up, particularly in rural areas. • Consider a transition phase for moving back to the office. The spacing of desks and other adaptive measures for facility use can promote social distancing in the office environment, in tandem with mask protocols for common areas. Enhance Protection for Employees with Public-Facing Jobs • For COVID-19 and similar respiratory-based pandemics, public health guidelines are likely to recommend that all employees and travelers wear masks to protect themselves and others PLAY: Pandemic Protective Actions MISSION AREA MODE EVENTS Protection/ Mitigation All Pandemic Controlling exposures to occupational hazards is the fundamental method of protecting workers. —Centers for Disease Control and Prevention31

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 25 and follow regular handwashing and sanitation measures. Make sure you have a clear policy and enforcement guidelines for employees. • Inspectors, supervisors, and security personnel move in and out of environments where mask wearing is required; these personnel must continue to socially distance themselves unless all are wearing masks. • Include information in your training about why these policies are in place, so that employ­ ees continue sound public health practices while on breaks or commuting. • Clarify expectations of employees, such as wiping down truck cab surfaces at the end of the shift; wiping down and possibly fogging a bus; and regularly cleaning and disinfecting high­touch surfaces in common areas such as door handles (Figure 4). Consider changes in protocols over time as conditions change. • Consider contactless systems to reduce the spread of disease, such as automatic doors, soap dispensers, and touchless fobs instead of keys. Source: Colorado Department of Transportation. Note: CDPHE = Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Figure 4. Excerpt from Colorado Department of Transportation regular situation report.

26 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies Overview To ensure the safety of employees and passengers, voluntary or mandatory protective actions may be required. For the COVID­19 pandemic, public health authorities recommended for transit the universal use of masks (PPE); social distancing on transit vehicles and in transit stations; frequent sanitizing of high­touch surfaces; and measures to allow passengers to avoid having to touch public surfaces. Establish Clear Programs Regarding Protective Actions Wearing Masks/Personal Protective Equipment • Clarify your policies and procedures regarding compliance, exceptions, and enforcement. Be aware there may be aggression involved with noncompliance and make sure employees know their limits and boundaries. • Incorporate a mask mandate that is enforceable into your organization’s passenger code of conduct; consider it similar to clothing mandates (shirts, shoes). • Establish how to and who should enforce wearing a mask. Encouraging compliance by using messaging and free mask distribution is a better, safer, strategy than active enforcement of compliance by agency personnel. • Clarify expectations for potential passengers through a comprehensive public awareness campaign involving multiple media, including social media. Use words, pictograms, and multiple languages as appropriate to clearly convey your messages (Figure 5). • Use the mask program as an opportunity to improve customer relations, for example, by giving away masks at community events, creating agency­branded masks, or placing agency ambassadors at stations. PLAY: Pandemic Public Transit Protective Actions MISSION AREA MODE EVENTS Protection/ Mitigation Transit Pandemic Source: Courtesy of Flock and Rally for the COMET. Figure 5. COMET bus poster. Just as riders rely on us, we rely on our passengers to protect themselves and one another by respecting these commitments. —American Public Transportation Association32

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 27 Social Distancing • Carefully establish and communicate social distancing policies with staff and passengers. • Enforcing social distancing requires information and agility. A real­time passenger count can ensure limits are not exceeded. If passengers know passenger counts in advance, they may be able to time travel accordingly. Dispatchers may need to notify operators to pass people up and alert waiting passengers that an additional bus has been dispatched to avoid overcrowding. • Keep some flexibility in social distancing rules so family groups can sit together. • Social distancing may require additional equipment as ridership recovers. Mobile Positions Mobile positions include train conductors, flight attendants, inspectors, supervisors, security personnel, employee work crews, on­site staff, and others. • Limit crews to one per truck or two in a split cab with both wearing masks or allow crews to use their own vehicles. If the logistics of parking multiple vehicles at a work site are unwieldy or impractical, limit the number of individuals in the cab and require ventilation (open windows) and masks with regular surface sanitation. • Organize employees into self-contained units/sheds/pods/teams to intentionally and deliberately eliminate interaction with other teams. With this framework, if one member of a team is exposed to or infected with the virus, the team can be quarantined. Other teams can step in to help with the workload, but the entire organization is not sidelined. • If possible, provide supplies, such as hand sanitizer, to encourage safe practices. A paratransit organization split itself into two stand-alone teams to cover all functions of administration, dispatching, and driving, thereby ensuring that their customers would have at least one healthy team to provide essential services.33 Oahu Transit, Hawaii, erected tents outside the headquarters office building to allow employees to spread out more.34 The Maryland DOT-MTA had many employee meetings on mask usage to make sure everyone understood the proper way to wear the masks and the requirement to do so.35 The Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority (The COMET), South Carolina, offered COVID tests at its facilities.36 Semistationary Positions Semistationary positions include bus and train operators and station attendants. • Require the public to adhere to specific protocols such as masks to protect other passengers and operators or station attendants. • Train operators and station attendants are typically in a cabin or kiosk that offers pro­ tection under most circumstances. Decide whether your mask protocols (if in place) also

28 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies extend to train operators and station attendants; extending such protocols models appro­ priate behavior to the public. • Protect the bus operator from infection through social distancing: – Implement rear­door boarding. – Use barriers such as a chain or partition to keep passengers at least 6 feet from the operator. You can use shower curtains, plexiglass, or other materials to protect operators when front door boarding resumes. • Consider providing bus operators for mobility services such as paratransit with protective masks, visors, and training in safe securement under pandemic conditions. These operators are often required to closely assist passengers (e.g., securing seat belts to a wheelchair or applying other fasteners to secure a mobility device). Passengers can be requested to turn their heads during securement and should wear masks or face shields if physically able. • Provide regular cleaning and disinfection of surfaces, particularly high­touch surfaces. Review air filtration systems and improve ventilation wherever possible. • If passengers are confirmed or suspected to be infected, you may request the public health agency to provide transportation. In at least one small community, volunteers in full protective medical attire volunteer to transport such patients to medical appointments. Cleaning and Disinfecting • High visibility of cleaning crews and sensory cues, such as scent, can reassure passengers (Figure 6). Frequency of surface cleaning will vary depending on health guidance, organiza­ tion policy, operations schedules, and use. • Investigate ventilation systems in your equipment and see if there are ways to improve air circulation and replenishment of fresh air if necessary. Air circulating through subway cars and buses is typically replaced with fresh air close to 18 times per hour; more frequently than 12 times per hour is recommended for airborne infection isolation rooms in medical facilities. Source: Courtesy of Michael Dantzler, photographer. Figure 6. COMET worker sanitizing buses.

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 29 • Contactless access can reduce the spread of disease. Evaluate options for reducing or eliminating passenger contact with surfaces, for example, by temporarily eliminating fare collection until alternate means of collection are established. • Monitor employee and public responses and adjust your program to address issues that may arise. Other Considerations • Organizations that operate in multiple jurisdictions may need to coordinate to achieve a common set of standards or enforce different standards at different locations. Consistent, clear communication is the key to success. • Document successes and failures and adjust policies and plans accordingly. • Be alert for health advisories and updates to policy recommendations on PPE and social distancing on transit vehicles, which may vary depending on passenger adherence to mask policies, passenger adherence to limiting conversations, local infection rates, and bus or train ventilation systems. • Keep your customers informed of the changes. • Develop screening and tracking tools for symptoms and for support of contact tracing for outbreaks. After implementing robust cleaning protocols, TriMet in Portland, Oregon, was able to increase ridership per vehicle and maintain safety. Its mandate went from 10–15 to 19–24 riders per bus and rider spacing from 6 feet to 3 feet on light rail.37 Vancouver’s TransLink tracks the regional infection rate and modifies load targets daily accordingly.38 After installing physical separation for the operator, such as plexiglass shields, many agencies are returning to front-door bus boarding and fare collection. Several transit organizations have hand sanitizer and mask dispensers available at stations or on vehicles. The COMET, South Carolina, gave away branded masks as a public service and to make sure passengers were aware of the mask policy.39 The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) “Operation Respect” campaign encourages compliance through celebrity public service announcements and a volunteer “Mask Force” that distributes free masks to bus, subway, and commuter rail riders.

30 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies Overview Situational awareness allows the organization to understand the existing environment in which it works, comprehend the current situation, and project appropriate actions for the future. Although maintaining situational awareness presents a significant challenge during emergencies and crises, it provides an essential common view for the organization to develop and use for decisions up and down the line. Situation reports, which are passed through preestablished reporting channels, contain verified information and details (who, what, where, when, and how) related to events. Status reports, which may be contained in situation reports, relay specific information about resources. During a pandemic, disease spread outside your jurisdiction may be informative, in that it can prepare you for future situations in your jurisdiction. Likewise, techniques for mitigating spread, such as protective measures for people and sanitation techniques for equipment, if discovered and tested by others, can help your organization get a head start on your response. Understand Your Environment • Continuously monitor relevant sources of information to discover emerging issues and understand context that could have an impact on your organization. • Prevent information overload. Find ways to sort credible, verified information from rumors and opinions. Both can be helpful but need to be clearly identified. • Establish protocols for data collection, information updates, and reporting within your organization and for those who receive information from you. The scope and type of monitoring varies on the basis of the type of incident and on reporting thresholds. • Consider using the operational period concept from the Incident Command System so the rhythm for updated information submitted to you and reports generated by you can be anticipated. Comprehend the Current Situation • Monitor logistics and travel through and into your state and on your system. Unlike during natural disasters, where the impact is usually to the physical environment, the impact of a pandemic is on people—staff and customers. • Although data elements may change, to the extent possible, use or modify existing protocols and systems for information exchange. Setting up an entirely new system can result in confusion and delays. • In addition to monitoring your staff and customers served for your operational purposes, you may need to track information of use to others, such as the number of vehicles crossing into your state or traffic counts within your jurisdiction. Be alert to opportunities to help your community improve overall situational awareness through tools accessible to you. Continuously Monitor and Evaluate • Track the health and availability of operators and key staff every day, division by division (Figure 7). PLAY: Situational Awareness and Reporting MISSION AREA MODE EVENTS Protection/ Response All Pandemic It’s what you know, what you learn, and what you can confirm. —Shelton Shaw, Utah Transit Authority40

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 31 Source: Caltrans. Figure 7. Caltrans example situation report (partial).

32 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies • Strategize and consider options for quick adjustments to routes should illness among your staff increase. • Watch for emerging issues in equipment availability due to maintenance issues, lack of spare parts, or other logistic considerations. • Recognize that the virus may mutate and new approaches may be needed. • Undertake serious and periodic risk analysis. Consider Future Options • Use your community’s or organization’s disaster experience, whether from response to storms, cyber attacks, or exercises to help guide planning for future actions. Recognize the differences and similarities between a pandemic and previous events. • Build flexibility into your decisions about the future, so you can course correct as needed. • Identify lessons learned through after­action reviews, and incorporate recommendations into existing plans and procedures. The Vermont AOT used field staff to manually count vehicle crossings at state borders and to assist the Vermont Department of Health and the National Guard to set up and provide resources for food distribution as well as testing sites.41 The Utah DOT, Vermont AOT, and others created or modified “dashboards” to provide simple visual representations of key data (Figure 8).42 Caltrans maintains an up-to-date digital warehouse to ensure that “everyone knows what resources we have and who is getting what.”43 The New York MTA is sending transit workers out across the subway system to report overcrowding in real time. This information is provided to riders on a new data dashboard on the agency’s website.44

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 33 Source: Vermont Agency of Transportation. Figure 8. Excerpts of mission-essential functions from the Vermont Agency of Transportation Incident Action Plan.

34 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies Overview Clear, consistent messaging across levels of government and organizations is crucial for agency credibility and for public and employee confidence and compliance. During events, regular communications keep the agencies’ partners, press, and public informed and address rumor control. Although messages and directions will change over time as situations evolve, one voice is much more effective than many voices. Determine who speaks for the department or agency and when. Confirm and clarify roles with the governor, the state emergency manager, and the state health commissioner. With Your Staff • Meet in small groups for two­way communication, such as toolbox talks. • When employee or public compliance with health directives declines, renew public health information and education. • Emphasize personal resilience and stress reduction. • Find ways to communicate other than email. Many employees may not have access (e.g., more than half of Maryland Transit Administration employees did not have access to agency email). • Use familiar formats for communicating with operational staff, such as an Incident Action Plan, which helps communicate and refresh priorities. • Explore and use collaborative platforms such as WebEOC, DLAN, Microsoft Teams, or other technology tools. • Make sure you have opportunities and methods for staff to tell you their concerns and ideas. PLAY: Communications MISSION AREA MODE EVENTS Response All Pandemic The Maryland DOT-MTA conducts on-site training programs for employees. A registered nurse coordinated with a union representative at each location with the theme, “Communicable diseases are preventable. We have a stake and you have a stake.” When supervisors notice reduced compliance with protective actions, employees are sent back for another session.46 Kaiser Hospitals set up a Zoom lunchroom—an open Zoom meeting during the lunch hour where people can drop by virtually for a chat with coworkers and other colleagues.47 The Kansas DOT set up weekly conference calls between district staff and headquarters to help clear up miscommunications instead of waiting until its customary quarterly meetings.48 The Maryland DOT-MTA uses the Safety Hotline (originally for use by employees and contractors regarding possible safety violations or questions) to give staff access to up-to-date information about department policies and plans. The Safety Hotline became so popular that employees from other departments started calling, too.49 Overcommunication is your best friend—when people are stressed and fearful, they have a hard time absorbing information. —Dana Hendrix, Caltrans45

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 35 With Executive Leadership • Jointly establish routines for ongoing communications so leaders know what to expect and when. • Use key indicators or dashboards to reflect status. Select elements that are readily available, to keep reporting from becoming too burdensome (Figure 9). • Be ready for impromptu reports, depending on need. Source: Colorado Department of Transportation. Figure 9. Colorado Department of Transportation intranet web page. Caltrans’ Night Missive provides an internal brief to executive and senior leadership every evening with the latest information.50 The Delaware DOT distributed a regular internal email from senior leadership that included status and statistics plus uplifting messages and suggestions that support morale and reduce stress, such as “Spend time with family” and “Take a walk.”51 With the Press • Maintain relationships with newspaper, radio and television reporters who understand the transportation context. • Provide regular briefings and press releases on policies, service changes, and events.

36 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies With Other Organizations • Keep current with public health guidance and leadership policies for your area. • Changes in the policies and procedures of others can change your requirements. Examples are the opening and closing of schools and other public facilities. Keep communicating with them so you can anticipate your future needs. • Stay in touch with your mutual aid organizations, especially in preparing for additional hazards and sharing resources. Communicate both what you have available and what you need. • Work with your union(s). Use this as an opportunity to improve relationships and partnerships. With Your Customers • Use all media, including social media and apps. Many people spend a lot of time online (Figure 10). • Develop a special web page regarding the pandemic and highlight not only schedule changes but also public health precautions and expectations of customers. • Put visible vests or other markings on cleaning crews so customers can notice and easily identify them. • Understand customers’ diverse communications needs, for example, the needs of those with visual or hearing impairments or both, those with limited English skills, those who are distracted (e.g., wearing headphones and focused on electronic devices), those who are not familiar with the system or the schedules, those with cognitive disabilities, and those with mobility issues who may require accessible information about accessible entrances and exits (see Appendix D). • When preparing communications, consider that anxiety due to the pandemic may make people less open to information and changes. • Allow public access to some of your virtual meetings. • If you make a mistake, own and clear it up immediately to retain trust. Source: Rogue Valley Transit District. Figure 10. Rogue Valley Transit Authority Safety Poster.

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 37 State DOTs • Use variable message signs for public health messages in compliance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).52 • Notify travelers if there is a mandatory mask order in your state and about other highway travel restrictions, such as an area closed to traffic as a result of quarantine or other actions. • Provide tips for fighting disease spread in public spaces such as rest areas and where employees gather. • Be careful to balance public health with safety messages, such as those regarding fire season. • Communicate about service reductions (e.g., trash pickup, rest areas). Transit Organizations • Keep employees and customers informed on what, how, and why changes are made to your services. Use signage, apps, and social media to keep information flowing. • Make sure your service planners and schedulers communicate with dispatchers, super­ visors, communications managers, and other on­the­ground personnel, such as operators and customer service staff to ensure that timely, pertinent information is reflected in evolving service adaptations. • Notify passengers about bus capacity limits and about the next bus available if they are passed by. Some organizations have modified their apps to show this information. • Publish information about your sanitary procedures and cleanliness to reassure customers. • Report information about infected bus operators or public-facing staff, not only to your superiors but also to the public, while maintaining compliance with HIPAA requirements (see “Exceptional Ideas”). • Modify your transit app to include bus, subway car, or light rail car fill information. • Repeat messages frequently using many different delivery methods: – Display reminders onboard, at bus stops, and in stations. – Include pictograms where feasible to overcome language differences. – Use public messaging (visual and spoken) for service announcements. – Employ and publicize service availability apps. – Make use of electronic bus and train message signs for reminders of safety policies as well as service status. • Step up suicide prevention messages. Oahu Transit issues press statements with bus numbers, routes, and times for any operators who test positive, so that passengers can get tested too.53 The COMET, South Carolina, uses a Quick Response (QR) code on buses with which customers can take a survey with feedback on bus conditions. The Utah Transit Authority held a free mask giveaway to communicate with incoming university students. The Louisiana DOTD offers free branded masks. The Chicago Transit Authority has an interactive website with crowding information by route by hour. The COMET wrote an op-ed about its decisions regarding limiting routes and enhancing on-demand services.

38 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies Overview Employees, customers and the general public may fear returning to the workplace; resuming riding buses or trains; and resuming interactions with co­workers, eating in restaurants, and other facets of everyday life. Those who are in high­risk health categories or have family members at high risk may be particularly concerned. One of most important tasks of transpor­ tation organizations, especially transit agencies, will be restoring confidence to employees and the traveling public. Ensure That the Transportation System Looks and Feels Safe • Perform high-visibility cleaning. Clearly identify how and when the system will be cleaned and what cleaning agents are being used. Some agencies have cleaning staff wear distinctive vests or uniforms or use scented cleaners to reassure riders. • Create a system culture that reinforces safety and compliance with health recommendations, using a multilayered approach—policies, education, communication—for employees and the public. • Use ambassador programs to place agency staff at locations in the system to promote safety recommendations and compliance. Be sure these staff and volunteers are visible and actively work with customers for safety and comfort. Psychological Comfort Is Important • Provide accurate information to customers on arrival times, so as to reduce wait times, espe­ cially in subways and other enclosed areas. Riders feel more comfortable above ground than in trains and underground stations, and they want to limit the time spent in contained areas. • Report demand and overcrowding in real time to customers so that they can make their own decisions on the safest times to travel. • Recommend actions that the traveling public can take to contribute to their safety such as personal hygiene (e.g., use of hand sanitizers) and PPE (e.g., facial coverings). Institute Concrete Measures and Communicate What Is Being Done • Provide regular reports to the public on the measures you have taken, any modifications that were made as a result of updated information, and any changes in the pandemic (see Appendix D). • Create education and communication campaigns to build confidence among riders. Regional Transportation District (RTD)­Denver developed an education and communication campaign called “Let’s Get the Region Moving.”55 • Partner with others in your region to develop a joint plan to reinforce trust in the transpor­ tation system. San Francisco Bay area transit agencies released a joint plan, “Riding Together: Bay Area Healthy Transit Plan,” to bolster trust in their transit systems.56 PLAY: Restore Public Confidence MISSION AREA MODE EVENTS Response/Recovery All Pandemic Winning riders back is a process, not a one-time action. —Phil Washington, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority54

APTA developed a Health and Safety Commitments Program (Figure 11) that identified four key areas that transit systems need to address to earn riders’ confidence: – Following public health guidelines from official sources, – Cleaning and disinfecting transit vehicles frequently and requiring face coverings and other protections, – Keeping passengers informed and empowered to choose the safest times and routes to ride, and – Putting health first by requiring riders and employees to avoid public transit if they have been exposed to COVID-19 or feel ill. The New York MTA, Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, and others have rolled out apps that relay real-time information about how many passengers are on incoming buses and trains, so that riders can decide whether to take the next train or wait for another.57 The New York MTA, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and New Jersey Transit joined in “Operation Respect,” a multilayered strategy to encourage universal compliance with face covering by customers on the region’s trains, buses, and commuter rails.58 SEPTA established “social distancing coaches”—transit authority managers and administrative employees who have offered to swap their regular duties for giving out masks and promoting social distancing as riders return to SEPTA.59 Source: “APTA, Public Transportation Industry, Unveil Nationwide ‘Health and Safety Commitments’ Program,” American Public Transportation Association press release, Sept. 9, 2020. Figure 11. Poster for American Public Transportation Association Health and Safety Commitments Program.

40 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies Overview Pandemics can disrupt community life by causing changes in commuting patterns; closures of schools, stores, and gathering places; and creating the need for new services that disrupt traffic management, such as testing or distribution centers. Traffic monitoring at state borders and enforcement of local quarantines can interrupt normal traffic flow. Commonly used traffic management tools and techniques, such as disseminating traffic information, controlling traffic, and managing the traffic demand, can be effective approaches for pandemics. Recognize that traffic instability may last for a long time. Adapt and Improve Traffic Management • Analyze emerging traffic needs and priorities. Use traffic management techniques for planned special events as a model to support pandemic testing or vaccination sites and other locations with high traffic demand, such as food distribution sites. • Use traffic control devices (cones, barriers, portable static signs) to guide and regulate traffic and enforce social distancing. • Incorporate lessons learned from exercises and experiences with animal disease for state border traffic management. • Be prepared to use detours and alternate routes to enforce local travel restrictions as needed. • If your community uses policies such as permitting outdoor dining, consider how traffic management, such as closing lanes nearest the sidewalk, can contribute to public health and safety. • If your community has initiated alternate uses of traffic lanes for bikes, pedestrians, or dedicated bus lanes, consider the impacts of maintaining those changes. • Work with partner organizations, such as health departments and school districts, to antici­ pate traffic changes and proactively meet new challenges. • Coordinate with border states in enforcing traffic restrictions. • Actively manage your inventory of traffic control devices to support needs and establish priorities if required. • Be prepared to both request and provide mutual aid, especially if there are additional hazards such as a natural disaster or civil action. • Document successes and failures for lessons learned and corrective actions. PLAY: Traffic Management MISSION AREA MODE EVENTS Response Highway Pandemic Develop a broader view. —Pennsylvania Department of Transportation60

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 41 Many state and local transportation organizations use signage, traffic barriers, and cones to facilitate traffic flow at COVID testing sites (Figure 12).61 The Florida DOT provided traffic management around virus testing sites and reduced construction projects around hospitals.62 Westchester County, New York, used traffic management to isolate a quarantine area in New Rochelle.63 The Kansas DOT used lessons from agricultural exercises regarding cattle/stock state quarantines to facilitate its preparedness for border screening if needed.64 Many DOTs used dynamic message signs to share recommendations on restricting travel to essential purposes. The Pennsylvania DOT transitioned all its traffic management centers to remote operations to ensure that essential traffic management systems continued to function.65 Source: Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration. Figure 12. COVID-19 drive-through testing at vehicle emissions inspection site.

42 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies Overview During a pandemic, it is critical to continuously monitor and dynamically adjust service and operations in response to both passenger demand and operator and vehicle supply and capacity. Demand can change dramatically: passenger volumes by time of day, definitions and require­ ments for essential travel, and passenger trip patterns. The ability to provide service can change rapidly in relation to the availability of operators, vehicle capacity constraints due to social distancing requirements, and impacts of current or anticipated funding shortfalls. Set Good Policies • Set clear policies regarding pandemic requirements and consider them in service planning, schedules, and procedures. Your policies should reflect priorities of jurisdictional leadership; if public health and policy decisions are to reduce interactions, your policies should reinforce that guidance. • Consider designating several levels of employees as “essential.” Recognize and acknowl­ edge additional expectations and hardships essential employees face and reward them as possible. • Consider waiving fares or move to a cashless system to avoid contagion through contacts. No longer accepting cash may require an agency to perform a Fare Equity Analysis and take mitigation actions to comply with Title VI of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. • Consider adjusting or temporarily waiving requirements for licensing and medical exams (e.g., for operators or maintenance personnel) if enforcing them presents an undue hardship. • Be aware of the potential for local leaders to establish a “quarantine zone” involving an area with a particularly high infection rate, and be ready to quickly implement your existing standby procedures. Continuously Monitor and Adjust Routes • Identify routes that must be continued “no matter what.” Although overall demand may fall, routes to hospitals and other essential services may experience increased demand. • Use schedules that the riding public is already familiar with, if possible, such as weekend or holiday schedules. Consider closed businesses and changes in destinations that may require route adjustments. • Be alert for new opportunities, such as working with local government to establish new bus lanes and priority signal timing to facilitate higher operating speeds. Investigate maintaining some of these changes for the long term. • If your service coordinates with routes of another jurisdiction, be sure to consider these interfaces when adjusting routes. • Monitor traffic and usage. Some systems have been able to maintain equivalent headways with fewer buses because of less congestion and higher operating speeds. Track ridership by time of day, by line, and by bus, as compared with capacity under social distancing policies. Also track “pass­bys,” or passengers not picked up because bus capacity has been exceeded. • Experiment and innovate. Some organizations have been able to implement floating operator assignments for more nimble scheduling; others have started mobility­as­a­service initiatives to use buses on higher­density routes while subcontracting with transportation PLAY: Service Operations Adjustments MISSION AREA MODE EVENTS Response Highway Pandemic As a public service provider, you don’t restore your service just to restore your service, you try to identify where you can accomplish the most good. —Carl Sedoryk, CEO, Monterey–Salinas Transit District66

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 43 network companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft for low­density or late­night service with accessible paratransit as an on­call backup. • Make flexible plans for mid­ and long­term operational adjustments. You may want to consider dynamic scheduling to rapidly adjust to changes in demand. Communicate Changes Clearly with Passengers and Staff • Keep employees and customers informed on what, how, and why changes are made to your services. Use signage, apps, and social media for timely notifications (Figure 13). • Make sure your service planners and schedulers communicate with dispatchers, super­ visors, communications managers, and other on­the­ground personnel such as operators and customer service staff to reflect pertinent information in evolving service adaptations. • Notify passengers of capacity limits and “next bus/train” availability if they are passed by. Some organizations modified their apps to show this information. The New York MTA’s Long Island Railroad TrainTime app now displays crowding conditions for each rail car.

44 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies Oahu Transit, Hawaii, uses dynamic scheduling to adjust buses and routes depending on need. Drivers are trained on multiple lines and can be shifted as needed during the day. Passengers follow an app rather than a set schedule.67 Rogue Valley Transit, Oregon, adjusts service based on demand and jurisdiction policies. With many stores closed, it eliminated Saturday service, which was mostly for shopping; when stores reopened, Saturday service was resumed.68 At The COMET, South Carolina, bus operators track passenger numbers and radio to dispatch when they are full, with signs notifying prospective passengers of the status and when the next bus can be expected. If this occurs regularly, headways are adjusted.69 Miami-Dade Transit reduced large buses on selected low-density late-night routes and reallocated them to higher-density requirements. Agreements with TNCs provided service to routes with passengers within a quarter-mile of the corridor, improving service, reducing costs, and providing additional capacity where needed. It reserved on-call paratransit vehicles to be available for people without smart phones and/or people requiring lift-equipped or wheel-chair- accessible vehicles.70 The Flagstaff, Arizona, Northern Arizona Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority (NAIPTA) reframed its mission from “Getting You Where You WANT to Go” to “Getting You Where You NEED to Go” to discourage ridership beyond essential trips at the outset of the pandemic.71 Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority made its schedule more flexible by adding services to accommodate health care workers in the early morning hours and in locations where essential workers are riding. It added dedicated bus lanes in Boston and its suburbs on bus routes with the highest rates of ridership—those for essential workers.72 The Chicago Transit Authority redirected buses to areas with a high concentration of transit-dependent riders, such as low-income neighborhoods.73 SEPTA began to offer a new 3-day pass to attract office employees who may report to work on a shortened schedule.74

Source: American Public Transportation Association. Figure 13. Rogue Valley Transit District Temporary Ride Guide.

46 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies Overview Certain events, such as hurricanes, wildfires, and major flooding, require people to evacuate their current locations and move to safer ones. Evacuations—moving large populations outside their communities—can spread the risks of infection during a pandemic. Several states have backed off conducting mass evacuations in recent years. Shelter­in­place (or shelter nearby, in the community) may be an alternative to evacuation, depending on the location and event. Consider Impacts of Pandemic on Evacuation Procedures • Recognize that during a pandemic, sheltering in place may not be possible for some events and that infected people, many or most unaware that they are infected, will be escaping to who knows where. • Incorporate the potential for spread of the pandemic when assessing the risk and cost–benefit of protective actions. • Reconsider standard evacuation procedures (see Appendix D). For example, during a pan­ demic, it may be advisable to shelter carless populations in place in stormproof facilities nearby in the community if feasible and safe, instead of evacuating them by bus or other vehicles. • Consider alternate shelter locations to facilitate social distancing (e.g., family/friends, hotels, and college dormitories—if colleges are not in session—in places outside the hazard zone). Consider associated staffing if applicable. • Recognize that social distancing and other protective actions against a pandemic will increase the transportation requirements. Social distancing and sanitizing requirements will affect how many evacuation buses and drivers are required to carry out an evacuation of carless residents in the available time. Evacuations typically require more transportation; buses can only safely be partly filled. Communities will likely use noncongregant shelters, such as hotels, which will mean more stops for the arriving vehicles. • Determine the level and type of screening for evacuees you transport. If transporting sick or contagious passengers, try to keep them separate from the general population. An urgent, no­notice evacuation due to a wildfire, dam burst or other catastrophe may require crowding for life safety. Collect as much contact information as possible to enable contact tracing after the event if an infectious outbreak occurs. • Develop plans to address critically ill patients who cannot be transported by bus or auto. • Understand how pandemic restrictions may affect agreements with other states on evacua­ tions and contraflow. How will out­of­state visitors be viewed? Can they get food/gas/other supplies as they pass through? Will they need to quarantine while in state? Will they be turned back at the state border? Sheltering-in-Place or in the Community • Identify transportation implications if the state’s emergency management agency is considering recommending shelter­in­place (or shelter nearby, in the community) as an alternative to evacuation, depending on the location and event. Prepare for the possibility of shorter trips and more dispersed destinations. • The shelter administrator may require screening tests for anyone entering a shelter; minimize entries and exits. PLAY: Evacuations/Shelter-in-Place: Pandemic Impact MISSION AREA MODE EVENTS Response All Concurrent/Pandemic We’re planning for evacuation buses and mobilizing our people, but from a pandemic perspective, we’re also having to take into account screening people and providing PPE. —Shawn Wilson, Secretary, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development75

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 47 • Ensure that people feel comfortable that the risk of the pandemic at mass shelter locations is lower than the risk of loss of life by staying home during the event. You must present a unified message that people’s health and safety is the primary consideration—safety from the event and safety from infection. Recovery and Reentry • Local governments make the decision as to who can come back to the community and how. In the case of a pandemic, the public health organization will be closely involved in that decision. The DOT may be called upon to support local directives. The Florida DOT increased its cadre of “road rangers,” who are prepared to help those who are stranded in an evacuation, and included social distancing precautions in the training program.76 Louisiana made special plans for bus loading during evacuations to keep families together while maintaining social distancing from nonrelated individuals.77

48 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies Overview Pandemics can have broad­ranging impacts on the financial aspects of an agency, ranging from the tracking and documentation necessary for reimbursement of emergency responses, to immediate loss of agency revenue (tolls, fares, sales tax, and related revenues) as travel shuts down, to the long­term impacts of potentially reduced federal, state, and local funding and business demand as the economy settles into an altered state. Recognize Impacts on Revenue • Your organization may lose income from shortfalls in tax revenue, executive decisions to redirect funds, fewer paying customers, or other shortages. • Eliminating fares may be a wise public health strategy but review this decision periodically. Consider implementing contactless fare systems. • Distinguish between short­term and longer­lasting reductions. Keep projections up to date and differentiate actuals from projections. • Identify the availability of financial assistance from other levels of government. Explore and take advantage of all opportunities to supplement your funds or receive in­kind donations. • Prioritize your organizational costs and project outlays. If possible, delay some projects and transfer funding to operations. Manage Expenditures • Set up accounting function codes to track pandemic­related resources, expended time, and expenses. Some may be reimbursable. • Review your priorities and cut where possible. Provide options to executive leadership with cost–benefit analysis. • Be prepared for some expenses to increase, such as those for sanitation and cleaning and the initial costs of setting up employees to work at home. Agencies found that some expenses may decrease. • Review current project and vendor contracts to determine whether they can be terminated or accelerated if necessary without significant penalty. • After making a careful analysis of short­ and long­term implications, – Consider options to furloughing employees (e.g., partial across­the­board furloughs), – Consider reassigning staff to a capital program (staff costs are capitalized), and – Consider assigning staff to other agencies with surge requirements, such as contact tracing or processing unemployment claims. Look for Opportunities • Manage contracts proactively. Expedite ready­to­complete projects at reduced time/cost and stop projects that can be delayed to conserve available budget if necessary. • Access funds that may become available in special legislation focused on “shovel­ready projects.” Make sure you have a list available so you can respond quickly to opportunities. PLAY: Financial Management MISSION AREA MODE EVENTS Response/Recovery All Pandemic With limited resources, an agency needs to think differently, more creatively. —Laura Mester, Michigan DOT78

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 49 The Vermont AOT and others established accounting function codes for time, expenses, and resources for the pandemic early on, thereby avoiding backtracking and recoding later (Figure 14).79 The Utah DOT “doubled down on construction” to take advantage of reduced traffic on highways.80 The Maryland DOT completed the most complex rebuild of the heavily trafficked Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel 1 year early due to expedited construction during the reduced traffic resulting from the pandemic.81 Charlevoix County Transit maintained fare revenue by using community contracts, such as with the Charlevoix County Commission on Aging and the school district, to provide contracted fare payment for affiliated riders.82 Multiple highway agencies are using online and e-payment for tolls and department of motor vehicle processes. Many transit agencies adopted e- payment apps and other cashless payment systems. Officials in a few cities are turning to voters to raise money to prevent transit cutbacks. For example, a Cincinnati sales tax increase was approved by voters, and a Seattle sales tax increase is on the November ballot.83 New York MTA lawmakers decided in 2019 to roll out a fee for automobile drivers entering Manhattan’s business core; San Francisco and Los Angeles are considering similar ideas.84 Source: Vermont Agency of Transportation. Figure 14. Vermont Agency of Transportation Incident Action Plan, Objective 2: Expenditure Tracking.

50 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies Overview Transportation’s role in the National Response Framework86 requires state DOTs and transit organizations, among others, to support the community with resources and services. During a pandemic, this support can take a different shape than most disasters. For example, during COVID­19, transportation has been called on to support state, regional, and local partners in both traditional and novel spheres of influence. Facilitate Logistics and the Transportation Industry • Identify key supply chain transportation routes and ensure that at least some essential Interstate rest areas remain open to support truck movements. • Explore options to provide needed services at rest areas, especially if local authorities close restaurants and other food service options. Some DOTs licensed food trucks to work out of the rest areas during COVID­19.87 • States may find it necessary to temporarily suspend weight and load restrictions or com- mercial driver’s license renewals because of the pandemic.88 The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration of the U.S. DOT can also selectively enforce hours of service limita­ tions for motor carriers providing direct assistance to emergency relief efforts in a certain geographic area during certain dates. Support the Community • Some states directly support logistics by moving essential supplies and medicines in DOT vehicles and airplanes. • Use fixed and deployable messaging systems to display public health messages consistent with MUTCD requirements or with waivers. • Use transportation facilities as staging areas for testing or providing vaccinations or other medical countermeasures. • Transit agencies and DOTs can deliver food, medicine, and PPE to organizations and individuals in need. • Support other agencies by providing surge staff to help when possible. During COVID­19, agencies assisted with unemployment claims, conducted passenger screening for cruise ships and airports, and conducted contact tracing. • Temporarily deploy employees to support other agencies. This works best when you analyze impacts on mission­essential functions, seek volunteers who are qualified, ensure staff are trained and equipped for safe performance, and ensure staff understand their responsibilities and resources. This is especially beneficial if your staff might otherwise be furloughed. • Provide support for other organizations and investigate programs, regulations, or exemp­ tions that may enable state or federal reimbursement for exceptional activities. PLAY: Emergency Support Function 1 and Community Support MISSION AREA MODE EVENTS Recovery/Response All Pandemic It’s important work that transit agencies are doing right now, even if it looks different than what we normally see. —Ann Rejewski, Colorado Association of Transit Agencies85

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 51 The governor of Florida tasked the Florida DOT with screening visitors coming into the state, first at seaports and airports, then arriving by road from adjoining states at one phase of the pandemic. The agency transitioned truck inspection waypoints into screening areas for passenger cars and waved all trucks through. The Florida DOT also coordinated with other state agencies to provide staff.89 At the request of the Salt Lake County Health Department, the Utah Transit Authority allocated a paratransit vehicle to be used specifically for transportation of COVID-19-positive citizens to health care facilities and quarantine facilities.90 Westchester County, New York, contracted with a private operator to supplement bus service for essential employees, especially to and from hospitals. Charlevoix Transit, Michigan, helped the Charlevoix County Commission on Aging to deliver free hot meals, which the agency reimburses at the senior fare rate. It also partnered with other feeding operations and, through these partnerships, has delivered more than 8,000 meals in a rural area. The agency worked with local pharmacies and hardware stores to respond to critical needs. The Federal Transit Administration supported such actions and implemented a funding waiver.91 The COMET, South Carolina, worked with seniors’ programs, including Meals on Wheels, in two counties to provide delivery services. The agency maintained its existing partnerships with TNCs to make sure passengers were able to take essential trips safely.92 The Kansas DOT used its trucks and vans to transport food around the state. It also partnered with state police to deliver antiviral medicine to remote areas using department airplanes. The agency donated most of its stockpile of N95 masks to hospitals early in the pandemic, replenishing as supplies became available.93 Westchester County, New York, used Access-A-Ride vehicles for food distribution to school districts and childcare programs. The Colorado DOT used its equipment and contractors to transport health care resources from the Strategic National Stockpile. It also donated some of its PPE stockpile to health care facilities in rural areas. The Vermont AOT transported 90% of the PPE arriving in the state and partnered with the National Guard for food and commodity distribution. It provided staff to help the state’s department of labor process unemployment claims. The Louisiana DOTD helped hospitals move resources during surge operations.94 The Utah DOT helped public health officials with contact tracing and assisted in procuring PPE.95 Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) parked its Wi-Fi–enabled commuter buses in rural areas to provide hot spots for farm workers and rural residents. To get testing capability out to the workers in the fields to support the agricultural industry, MST provided two buses to be converted into mobile COVID-19 testing facilities. It offered additional support by arranging for 7,500 masks received from the federal government to be distributed to families in farmworker communities.96

52 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies Overview Because pandemics can last for months or longer, an initial agency emergency response cannot be sustained for the long term. Developing a stabilization approach, strategy, and plan that address when and how an agency can return to more stabilized operations can allow the organization to fulfill its mission over the longer term during a pandemic. Establish a Reconstitution or Stabilization Plan • Review your essential functions and priorities for the longer term. Note needed functions, personnel, and facilities. Being careful to ensure flexibility, begin to scope out the longer­term impacts. • Review your component organizations and parts to assess capabilities and limitations that could have an impact on stabilization. Consider units of effort, such as shed­by­shed or office­by­office. • Address differences in functional needs, such as operations versus administration. • Recognize that stabilization may require changes of habits and modifications of normal operations. Use a Phased Approach to Provide Flexibility • Identify and define phases to be used to roll out the stabilization. A phased approach allows an agency to test the safety and effectiveness of the approach and modify as necessary. • Consider using state or federal guidelines to establish phases, if possible. • Determine the trigger points and decision criteria for each phase. Consider the measures and data to determine when it is safe to move from one phase to the next. Think of how you will assess safety and effectiveness. Ensure Confidence of Staff in Safety of Approach • Provide accurate information to employees about what is being planned, the specific approaches and measures being taken, and their role. • Clarify expectations and responsibilities of employees. • Provide regular reports to employees on results and modifications to be made due to updated information and any changes in the pandemic. Monitor, Assess, and Document Lessons Learned • Monitor whether strategies and actions are fully implemented as intended and analyze data on how effective those strategies and actions are. • Consider using a safety assurance program with indicators to assess safety. Include perfor­ mance measures to track staff pandemic cases and audits to monitor compliance with policies and procedures. • Continually review data and information and be prepared to modify your approach. • Document results and lessons learned and modify plans accordingly. PLAY: Agency Stabilization MISSION AREA MODE EVENTS Recovery/Response All Pandemic Normal functions wouldn’t return until a tested vaccine is available for everyone; the Stabilization Plan is a “working document” that will change. —Pauletta Tonilas, Agency spokeswoman, Denver Regional Transportation District97

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 53 The Utah DOT created a “return to office” or stabilization plan based on the color- coded phases (orange, yellow, green) in the Utah governor’s guidelines. The “return-to-office” policies were established on a shed-by-shed, office-by-office basis. Continual monitoring of COVID-19 cases was done to support the approach.98 Denver RTD developed a recovery plan (Figure 15) that uses a phased approach to reinstate service. If certain milestones are met, such as a sustained decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases, an increase in the availability of tests, and effective contact tracing by public health agencies, RTD will reinstate reduced or eliminated services. The plan is a working document that will change.99

Source: Regional Transit District, Denver. Figure 15. RTD Recovery Response Matrix Phases 3 and 4.

Emergency Management Plays: Approaches and Solutions 55 PLAY: Concurrent Emergencies with Pandemics MISSION AREA MODE EVENTS All All Pandemic Plus Hurricane, Wildfire, Flooding, Other Disasters ALL Overview The long­lasting nature of pandemics means one or more other major emergency events may also occur. Interconnected events are not simply additive; they create complications and stressors greater than the sum of the parts. Consider Impacts and Influences of Multiple Simultaneous Events • Conduct tabletop exercises of your potential major events—for example, hurricanes, civic protests, wildfires—with the overlay of a pandemic. What changes and what does not change? • Find creative ways to get additional bench strength for your staff. Consider using volun­ teers and retirees for certain tasks. Work with FEMA and local organizations to strengthen community volunteer resources with training on how to safely help while socially distancing. • Consider the emergency needs of remote working staff and encourage them to make viable family emergency plans that include evacuation. • During operations, ensure that public and employee safety remain priorities, along with other operational needs. • Review common protocols for response, damage assessment, and recovery to find safe and healthy ways to perform essential functions in a pandemic environment. • Make sure to update your support contracts to require adherence to health directives and ensure that your contractors for debris management and reconstruction are available to support recovery efforts while adhering to safety guidelines. • Review your supply chain for traditional, emergency, and pandemic­related supplies. Make sure you have adequate stock and backup suppliers for critical items. • Help staff and systems develop flexibility. Normalize change. With participant engagement, help build capacities for self­organization. Such capacities will pay off both during complex emergencies and in normal times. • Make sure you have a system for establishing priorities. Document them and communicate them throughout your organization. There may come times when not all priorities can be met initially. People generally are more understanding if they know all the facts. • Evacuations typically require more transportation because, during a pandemic, buses can only safely be partly filled. Communities will likely use noncongregant shelters, such as hotels, and arriving vehicles will require more stops. • Determine the level and type of screening for evacuees you transport. If you must trans­ port sick or contagious passengers, try to keep them separate from the general population. • Be aware of social justice and equity concerns. Establish enhanced partnerships as needed. • Consider increasing use of technology to limit human exposure. For example, for damage assessment, use unmanned aerial vehicles (also known as drones), video, lidar, Google Street View and 360 imaging, and geospatial imagery rather than on­site teams of individuals. • The recovery phase in a multiple concurrent disasters scenario is different, because the crises will not end concurrently. Especially when stringent health directives are still in place, supporting people through this phase will be more challenging because they will want to get back to normal, even though a crisis may still be taking place. It’s really a juggling act and you’re juggling some very fragile crystal balls. —Shawn Wilson, Secretary, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development100

56 A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies • Coordinate fleet movements (such as power and communications restoration crews) for response and recovery with the utility fleets and with other DOTs (e.g., via the nonprofit All Hazards Consortium) to ensure consistent guidelines and safe and expeditious transit across state borders. The Utah DOT responded to an earthquake in March 2020 as the pandemic was starting, prompting it from the beginning to prepare for multiple disasters simultaneously.101 The Florida DOT conducted tabletop exercises for hurricane planning for each district, working through its specific requirements and resource needs. The agency coordinated with its emergency response vendors to understand the impact on its supplies and shared PPE with staff, vendors, and industry partners. New York learned from Hurricane Sandy to require backup generators at critical facilities, such as gas stations. The Vermont AOT expanded its emergency management cadre so some could concentrate on the pandemic while others prepared for hurricanes and other disasters.102