TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Transportation ministry said that the number of public transportation users have declined. The low number of passengers is a result of the government's call for social distancing to prevent further spreading of the Covid-19.

"The decline is about 40 to 70 percent," Transportation Ministry spokesman Adita Irawati said, Friday, March 20.

Adita said that social distancing and work-from-home appeal have made people reduce their mobility.

In an effort to prevent further spreading of the coronavirus, the Transportation Ministry has coordinated with Provincial Transportation Departments. The local departments followed up by issuing circulars on the protocols of social distancing.

In Jakarta, the local Transportation Agency issued a Circular on Increasing Awareness of Covid-19 Transmission in Public Transport by means of Social Distancing. All public transport operators operating in Jakarta are required to implement social distancing without exception to prevent transmission.

Maintaining distance between individuals is applied in all public transportation, both land, sea and air, as well as in public areas like airports, ports, train stations, and bus terminals.

All transportation operators are also exercising every possible effort in order to break the chain of transmission. Steps that have been taken include spraying disinfectants at public transport facilities and infrastructure, providing hand sanitizers, measuring the temperature of officers and passengers, rearranging seats, and providing masks for passengers who are coughing or having a flu.

Another step is arranging passengers' queue, so everyone keeps a distance between each other. They are also limiting the number of passengers that can ride in one car at the same time.

BISNIS