After Durham Station, the second busiest bus stop in Durham is in east Durham at the Village Shopping Center, sometimes called Wellons Village, near the intersection of North Miami Blvd and Holloway Street. There is always a crowd, of varying sizes, getting ready to get on a bus headed downtown, out toward Walmart on East Geer Street, toward the Holton Career and Resource Center on Driver Street, or east down Highway 98.

This Tuesday at mid-day, the scene was no different. As the time neared for buses to arrive, people would gather on either side of Raynor Street, ready to get on. Some were clearly concerned about the COVID-19 virus, keeping their distance from one another, or wearing masks and gloves. Talib W., an older man from east Durham was wearing a worn light-blue face mask and winter gloves. He said since the virus, “it’s changed a lot. There are less people, it’s not as crowded as it used to be. You see more people are using protective gear. Masks and gloves. Not all of them, but you’ve got those who are conscientious.”

Others were less concerned, joking with one another, or sitting right next to each other under the lone shelter at this busy location. A young man sitting under the shelter said he’s not worried about being too close to others on the bus. “I think people are taking this virus too seriously.” The young woman with a toddler in her lap said people need to get to work to make money. She said when you have to choose between making money and risking getting sick, people are going to do what they have to to make money.

Others shared their stories about how critical GoDurham was for them. Earl C., a middle-aged man from east Durham, said “If the buses shut down, it would affect me in my responsibilities in going to see my kids, probably to go to work, everyday travel.” He’d continued, ”Education, health, doctor’s appointments, picking up medications, the post office. It would affect a lot for my everyday travel, everyday use. It would be very detrimental to my everyday life.”

Mr. Glenwood J, who lives near Northgate Mall shared, “I use GoDurham almost exclusively. To pick up personal items, to get groceries, especially to get to Durham Tech’s campus to take classes. It’s a critical part of my daily life.”

Ridership is Noticeably Lower

All the people waiting at the Village had noticed that there were fewer people on most buses. That’s confirmed by data from staff at GoTriangle who shared that on Monday, ridership on GoDurham was down about 25% from a normal Monday, and that ridership on GoTriangle was down 60-70%. These figures are in line with results from other transit agencies around the country, where commuter-oriented services have seen precipitous declines in riders who are now working from home or have been laid off. Local transit services, whose customers use the services for work and education, but also for connections to grocery stores, medical appointments, and other services, have seen lower declines in usage.

Here in Durham, it can vary by route. Talib W “was surprised that I got on one bus, and there was nobody but me when normally these buses on Route 3C have 20 or more people on them. But for those who have to go shopping, they can’t help but get on a crowded bus, but [many] still have the protective gear.” According to GoTriangle planners, Route 3, which goes to Walmart, only had 12% fewer riders than a normal weekday. Mr. Johnson said “I just came down on Route 3 and it was probably three-quarters, almost full capacity.”

Earl C. observed that many buses are less crowded because lots of things are shutting down. “I went to Social Security today. Social Security office is shutting down. I tried to get some clothes at CitiTrends [a clothing store] and it was shut down. A few other places where I tried to go do some things were shut down. And the buses are shutting down [early at 9:30pm].” He was concerned about whether GoDurham service would continue to operate. “I don’t know if thery’e going to have the buses too long, because everything is shutting down. And there’s less people on the bus and they don’t really want to be together with each other, so I don’t really know how long that will hold up.”

GoDurham Connects Some Riders Who Donate Life-Giving Plasma

Adjacent to the bus stop is a CSL Plasma donation center. CSL Plasma is one of the nation’s leading producers of blood products. According to their website, “Plasma is the essential ingredient for products crucial to treating patients suffering from a host of life-threatening conditions and bleeding disorders.” At companies like this, donors are compensated for their donation. Again, according to their website, new donors can earn up to $400 in their first month. Continuing donors can earn about $300 if they make donations twice each week. Earl C. said sheepishly, “I go sometimes [to earn money] to pay bills, get groceries, pay fines. City fines for traffic tickets or things of that nature. It’s pretty beneficial to have that open. I was surprised it’s open because of the COVID virus. I don’t know how long that’s going to be open.”

As long as it remains open, and GoDurham remains operating, Earl C. and Glenwood J. will continue to ride here to donate plasma so that they have the money to pay their bills and get groceries. It’s an important source of income for them. This is the underlying message in all of these stories - GoDurham is essential in connecting them to ways to earn money and to all of life’s necessities. While some are nervous about exposure to the virus, nearly all are more concerned about what it would mean for GoDurham to stop running.

NOTE: This post is the second in a series about how people are using transit and bicycles during the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Durham.

Standing away from the others at the bus shelter in front of the Duke Medical Center, Jani Hale waits for her GoDurham bus. Wearing her light blue surgical gloves, she’s ready to take the bus home at the end of day working for Duke University Medical Center’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. She rides every day and has noticed that it is a lot emptier on the buses since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in Durham. She has continued to ride because it’s her only way to work, and she appreciates that there is hand sanitizer on-board and that the city of Durham has recently made the buses free of charge. “It kinda lessens the heavy weight that we’re all carrying right now.”

Jani Hale, Duke University Medical Center Employee, waits on GoDurham Route 20

*Photo Credit: John Tallmadge*

On Sunday night, the City of Durham, followed by GoTriangle, the City of Raleigh, and the Town of Cary, suspended fares and required boarding through the rear doors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As reported Monday in the Raleigh News & Observer, Sean Egan, transportation director for the City of Durham said these measures are intended to keep customers and employees safe. “GoDurham operators and all of our front-line colleagues face the same pressures as everyone else right now,” Egan said in a written statement.

“They have families, kids out of school, loved ones with health concerns, and others may know someone already impacted by COVID-19. Despite these pressures, and despite understandable concerns, our workforce is showing up out of a sense of duty to the community.”

Egan said GoDurham will continue to operates as long as it is “safe and appropriate to do so.” Durham Mayor Steve Schewel shared in an email that he’s “worried about the social distancing on buses.” He is discussing with partners whether to run extra buses on busy routes “so we can cut down on the number of people on each bus. I’m not sure this is going to be able to happen, but I think it would be good if we could do it.”

Jen an Occupational Therapist at Duke Hospital who lives about two miles from the hospital on Route 11B, remarked that “everybody seems to be adhering to the precautions about being six feet apart. I just try to be careful and carry hand sanitizer with me and not touch anything.”

If the local bus systems or GoTriangle stopped running their services, or significantly cut back on their frequency, most remaining passengers would have few, if any, remaining options. While Jen has a car, she does not pay for a parking space at Duke Medical Center, so if the buses stopped running, she believes that “she would be in a bit of trouble.” Jen thinks she “might have to ask friends for a ride, which would be very inconvenient and scary for them. They don’t want to be close to others right now when we’re supposed to be socially distancing. I think that the bus is probably a better way to socially distance oneself than carpooling.”

Masti, a young woman who works in a lab at Duke University Medical Center, rides GoTriangle route 405 and connects to Chapel Hill Transit routes. She has already had to adjust to last week’s cutback in Chapel Hill service to less frequent Saturday levels. Monday morning, she missed her connection to work and ended up calling Uber to get to her job. If GoTriangle were to discontinue or reduce service levels she is afraid she couldn’t come to work or would have to pay for an Uber most days. Doug M., who works at the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center, and uses the same route as Masti, expects he would reluctantly switch to driving or taking Uber to work.

Ms. Hale has considered biking, but like in most cities, few of the streets in Durham have been designed to be safe for all users. She mapped out a bike route, but found “they don’t have the bike lane throughout the whole path coming here, so that would be kinda dangerous.” She called out Duke University Road, Academy Road and University Drive as the three main roads along her route where she wouldn’t feel safe on a bike. Jen also considered biking but noted that on day’s like Monday when it was raining, “it wouldn’t really be convenient to have to change once I got to work.”

For Hale, keeping the buses running is essential. “Yeah, I don’t know what I would do if the bus system was to stop running. I wouldn’t be able to get to work. Where I live and where I work was based on the bus route.”

NOTE: This post is the first in a series about how people are using transit and bicycles during the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Durham.