Moscow Metro has run every day but one since its launch in 1935. By continuing to provide a safer-than-usual service during the country’s COVID-19 outbreak – including by displaying social distancing signs in trains and stations and not reducing the frequency of trains – it has ensured citizens’ continued access to a high-quality, resilient and agile urban transport system.
Maintaining a resilient public service – to keep the city safe and moving
The Moscow Metro’s 900 000 m2 are cleaned and disinfected daily by 4000 Moscow Metro staff. Almost 50% of Moscow Metro’s fleet is equipped with UV lamps integrated into climate control systems to disinfect the air, making the disinfection time up to 6 times faster compared to cleaning by hand. In addition, passenger zones, technical rooms and ventilation shafts are disinfected using antiseptic heat sprayers.
Every two hours escalator handrails, turnstiles, ticket offices, entrance door handles and other infrastructure with which passengers interact are decontaminated, with more than 1,600 ticket vending machines disinfected every hour. From April 15 until June 9, 2020, a system of contactless digital travel passes was implemented, and when this system was lifted on June 12, passengers were able to extend the validity of all transport passes suspended because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Metro tavel still means wearing a mask and gloves – a measure introduced alongside the provision of gloves and masks for sale to passengers in ticket offices, vending machines and shopping malls at the start of the outbreak. Today, passenger numbers have recovered to 68% of normal levels. Some of the busiest stations are close to railway stations, large business centres, residential complexes and public spaces, indicating the economic and social value of the metro and its COVID-19 measures.
Building future resilience: ensuring passenger confidence in the metro as the best means of city transport
Moscow Metro continues to support passengers by explaining new safety rules and informing them of the latest situation and will maintain its intense disinfection and sanitization of stations and trains. Moscow Metro also continues to support its employees daily, not only providing remote work opportunities and conducting regular tests, but also providing them with personal protective equipment and explaining work practices during a pandemic. Maintaining the operation of the network strengthens the confidence of passengers that urban transport – and the metro in particular – remain the best and most practical mode of transport for getting around the city.
[Quote:] “Public transport operators around the globe have been affected by the pandemic. Daily ridership has decreased dramatically. Now it is very important for transport operators to bring passengers back, but it is impossible to make it without inspiring trust in their reliability. In the Moscow Metro we believe that what we do should make our passengers confident about their security. Today the ridership is increasing, every day we see how passengers are getting more confident of our service. This, in some cases, can also become an example for international metro community as our colleagues are facing the same challenges,” says Roman Latypov, First Deputy CEO for Strategy and Client Work at Moscow Metro