According to the foreign media The Verge, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Agency (MTA) is dealing with the record low passenger volume of subways and buses during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the New York Daily News, the Department of Transportation will begin using powerful UVC ultraviolet light on subways and buses as part of its enhanced disinfection program. This work is part of a collaborative project with Columbia University, which believes that UVC lamps can be used to kill diseases in the transportation system.
Beginning on May 11, 2020, MTA will place UVC ultraviolet lamps in subway cars and buses at two subway stations and bus stations. The "ultraviolet rays" emitted by these lamps are composed of shorter, higher-energy UVC light bands. Direct exposure to UVC light can be harmful to humans.
UVC ultraviolet rays are particularly good at killing organic matter, including virus particles, but whether it can effectively eliminate the new coronavirus is still unknown. UVC lamps and robots are commonly used to disinfect water, laboratory equipment and other objects, as well as spaces such as buses and airplanes. MTA officials said that if the effect is good, they will expand to more trains and buses.
Last week, New York Governor Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that starting from May 6th, unconventional measures will be taken to shut down subway services from 1 am to 5 am every day and carry out large-scale UVC disinfection. .
According to reports, since the outbreak, the New York City Department of Transportation's passenger volume has dropped by 90%. In response to the decline in demand, the department has reduced some train and bus services. Employees in many essential industries still rely on buses to commute to and from get off work every day. So far, more than 80 MTA employees have died because of the new crown virus.
