People even take taxis over it, and I’m confident that if you’re cutting back on mass transit you should dramatically cut back on taxis.
I’m curious why you think this? A taxi with the windows down seems about as well ventilated as a subway with filtered air, and you’re trading one other person 1-2m away for having a bunch of people around on a subway. When I ran it through microcovid, a taxi seemed significantly safer (unless the subway is unusually uncrowded, eg it’s late at night).
Is the argument that taxi drivers are significantly more likely to be infected than the typical person on the subway, given their job?
It’s a small area, usually unventilated so a hot box, for an extended period of time with the same person, who does this on a regular basis. Seems to me like the chance of reaching critical mass to get infected is much higher than in most mass transit scenarios, especially with ridership down by half—when I ride the subway it’s usually mostly empty and I can be rather far away from everyone.
But of course, yes, details matter. Hours on a crowded bus would be different, it’s just that the buses tend no longer to be crowded. Last time I took a long bus ride it was >90% empty.
Agreed. Also to note: I took a bunch of taxis during 2020 (for doctor’s appointments and such) and I was often their first/only client of the day, so the driver is not necessarily someone with above average exposure to infected people. The circumstances probably change a lot by place / time / lockdown level, so it’s worth taking into account the specifics of your situation.
I’m curious why you think this? A taxi with the windows down seems about as well ventilated as a subway with filtered air, and you’re trading one other person 1-2m away for having a bunch of people around on a subway. When I ran it through microcovid, a taxi seemed significantly safer (unless the subway is unusually uncrowded, eg it’s late at night).
Is the argument that taxi drivers are significantly more likely to be infected than the typical person on the subway, given their job?
It’s a small area, usually unventilated so a hot box, for an extended period of time with the same person, who does this on a regular basis. Seems to me like the chance of reaching critical mass to get infected is much higher than in most mass transit scenarios, especially with ridership down by half—when I ride the subway it’s usually mostly empty and I can be rather far away from everyone.
But of course, yes, details matter. Hours on a crowded bus would be different, it’s just that the buses tend no longer to be crowded. Last time I took a long bus ride it was >90% empty.
Agreed. Also to note: I took a bunch of taxis during 2020 (for doctor’s appointments and such) and I was often their first/only client of the day, so the driver is not necessarily someone with above average exposure to infected people. The circumstances probably change a lot by place / time / lockdown level, so it’s worth taking into account the specifics of your situation.