Ryu Fukazawa is an frontline worker that takes transit.

He works at a Mexican restaurant that serves takeout burritos, tacos and more in the Fairview neighbourhood, which is home to Vancouver General Hospital along with other healthcare institutions. Naturally, healthcare workers form a small part of their customer base, along with walk-in customers in the community and orders through food delivery apps.

Over the past few weeks, he’s seen an small uptick in healthcare workers ordering takeout from their restaurant. Being able to serve them and others in the community has been rewarding for Ryu and as an added bonus, to be able to continue working.

“It’s rewarding to be able to provide something good to the community,” he says, “Just last shift, I had a couple regulars come in and tell me that they’re surprised we were still open. I know many places have been reduced to a drive-thru/delivery-only model, and it’s really fulfilling to be able to serve those who can’t drive, or those who can’t afford the upcharge that you might face through food delivery apps.

“Work isn’t the same when I’m not interacting with my customers, and I think it’s a positive thing for both me and my guests to have even a little bit of familiarity in times of crisis like this and I’m really grateful to still be working full time hours.”

To get to work, he takes the 406 Richmond–Brighouse Stn / Steveston from his home, then he rides the Canada Line the rest of the way to Broadway–City Hall Station. Transit is the only way for him to get from Richmond to Vancouver.

Dedicated employees like bus operator Bryan Stebbings and attendants on SkyTrain are on transit’s frontlines helping Ryu and daycare workers like Ava Jade get to work and making essential trips on transit possible. As one of these people, Ryu is appreciates physical distancing on transit.

“And at first, I thought it’d be a little challenging to physically distance because it’s usually quite crowded,” he says. “But, what I realized the last couple weeks is there’s not a lot of people on transit anymore, at least on like my route, and it’s actually quite easy to like distance yourself from others.”

Over the past few weeks, ridership has gone down on the system, which has made physical distancing easier on transit. We’ve also implemented measures to help with physical distancing on transit, including rear-door boarding for most passengers and limiting seats on buses.

“Like many grocery stores and chain restaurants, we’re staying open because were deemed an essential service,” he explains. “Thanks to not only TransLink, but everyone else that’s avoiding public transport, making the trips of those who still need to take it that much more safer.”