Fewer people travel by bus and train in Corona times. This is probably also due to the fear of infection. Public transport now wants to counteract this and strengthen confidence in their own health.
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- The corona crisis * also affects the use of public transport.
- The public transport is facing major problems.
- Now people's trust in their own security should be strengthened - also with an unusual idea.
- Here you will find the basic facts about the corona virus * and the current number of cases in Germany * as well as the Corona news from Germany. All information on the subject is also available on our Facebook page Corona News.
Essen - In times of the corona virus , people use public transport less often. The volume of long-distance travel by Deutsche Bahn in April was only ten to 15 percent of the usual level. Hygiene rules such as the mandatory mask * apply to trains and buses , but many people seem to avoid public transport for fear of a corona infection * .
In Essen, they now want to protect people from the corona virus with a creative idea - and at the same time attract more passengers.
Corona virus / public transport: When exposed to light - special varnish should destroy viruses
The breakthrough is supposed to be clear varnish , which is to be applied to the handles in trams and buses. If light falls on the color, the viruses should be destroyed automatically. When exposed to light, the agent Dyphox forms "a light layer on the object, which consists of oxygen and the virus can be killed," explains Ruhrbahn operations manager Martin Dreps of the Tagesschau.
The idea sounds good at first glance, but there are conflicting opinions about the effectiveness of the protection. The University of Regensburg passed a test with clear varnish, but questions remain as to how the varnish behaves in everyday life. The test results were made in a sterile laboratory atmosphere.
Corona virus / public transport: clear varnish as a solution? "We haven't really researched this yet"
Rudolf Eckert, Head of Clinic Hygiene at the Krupp Hospital in Essen, is therefore skeptical. Does the paint really have an effect? “We haven't really researched that yet. What we have is all laboratory results on glass panels and not on trams in the tram. ”
The cleaning of the areas poses great problems for the operators of public transport as a whole. At these points, there is a minimized likelihood of virus transmission compared to the risk of transmission from aerosols in the air, but it cannot be excluded based on current research *.
Corona virus: Public transport badly affected - Deutsche Bahn launches hygiene offensive
So what do you do in the fight against contaminated surfaces? The German railway recently launched a hygiene campaign to "maintain the trust of people in a pandemic" how North Rhine Westphalia transport minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) said at the project presentation in Dusseldorf. The DB tries to kill viruses with special UV light. In addition, the vehicles used should be cleaned more often and ventilated regularly.
In times of the corona pandemic, Deutsche Bahn wants to do even more for hygiene and cleanliness in trains and at train stations. UV light is said to keep the surfaces of escalators at train stations virus-free.
© dpa / Arne Dedert
Public transport is fighting for “people's trust” - and also for the future of your industry? The consequences of the Corona crisis do not appear to be entirely foreseeable, but considerable losses can already be seen. These can also not prevent paint and UV light.
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List of rubric lists: © dpa / Christian Charisius