The Government has announced a number of new restrictions aimed at reducing the risk of Covid-19 infection. These include banning indoor gatherings of more than 100 people.

However the these measures don’t apply to public transport, workplaces, schools, universities, and supermarkets.

Auckland Transport continues to follow the guidelines from the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Health about using public transport in light of COVID-19.

The government has made it clear there is no link between using public transport and confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand.

The Ministry of Health has provided the following advice:

• Avoid close contact (within two metres) with people with cold or flu-like illnesses
• Cover coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues or clothing. Place tissues in a rubbish bin if possible
• Wash hands for at least 20 seconds with water and soap and dry them thoroughly:
  • before eating or handling food;
  • after using the toilet;
  • after coughing, sneezing, blowing your nose or wiping children’s noses; and
  • after caring for sick people.

AT has also introduced a number of extra measures around public transport.

These include:

• From next Monday (23 March) cash fares will not be accepted on buses.

This will minimise the physical contact between customers, Auckland Transport staff and bus drivers.

If a customer was planning to buy a paper ticket to travel they will instead be given a free AT HOP card for their journey. This service will be available at AT’s 13 customer service centres listed here: https://at.govt.nz/about-us/contact-us/customer-service-centres/

• Giving personal hand sanitisers to our frontline staff and reminding them that washing and drying hands is still the most effective means of practising good hygiene
• Cleaning AT buses, trains and ferries on a more regular basis and stepping up the cleaning of surfaces like handrails.
• Installing 14 new public hand sanitiser stands at key locations across our transport network.
• All toilets across our transport network are also being fitted with hand sanitiser dispensers
• Displaying Ministry of Health posters regarding COVID-19, as well as hand hygiene, in our offices, buses, trains, ferries and other facilities
• Creating a COVID-19 section of our website, which we will continue to update with the latest information

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We all have an important part to play in helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. For the latest information and advice from Auckland Transport go to https://at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/service-announcements/covid-19/. 
For Ministry of Health updates go to https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus.

We all have an important part to play in helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. For the latest information and advice from Auckland Transport go to https://at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/service-announcements/covid-19/. 
For Ministry of Health updates go to https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus.

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