Even in normal times, public transportation is an easy place to get sick: Commuters jostle each other, breathe the same air in packed subways, grasp the same straps for support and grab the same escalator handrails.
In times of coronavirus, though millions of people are staying home from school or work, those who must continue to use trains, streetcars and buses are doing what they can to minimize the risk.
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Even in normal times, public transportation is an easy place to get sick: Commuters jostle each other, breathe the same air in packed subways, grasp the same straps for support and grab the same escalator handrails.
Transportation authorities are also trying to keep commuters safe. In Rio de Janeiro, soldiers clad head-to-toe in bright yellow protective suits stand in formation on a platform before disinfecting rail cars. And in Medan, Indonesia, a worker walks through a car spraying clouds of disinfectant.
A subway customer uses a tissue to protect her hand while holding onto a pole as COVID-19 concerns drive down commuters, March 19, 2020, in New York. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
A commuter in the metro wears a protective mask as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus in Mexico City, March 19, 2020. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
A volunteer disinfects a passenger bus as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 18, 2020. (AP PhotoMulugeta Ayene)
People wearing protective masks as a precaution against a new virus ride in an electric cart at a train station in Mumbai, India, March 17, 2020. (AP PhotoRajanish Kakade)
A worker in protective suit sprays disinfectant inside a passenger car amid fears of the new coronavirus outbreak, at a train station in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, March 16, 2020. (AP PhotoBinsar Bakkara)
Two passenger wearing protective masks sit inside a train in Barcelona, Spain, March 16, 2020. (AP PhotoJoan Mateu)
A man wearing a face mask travels by train in Barcelona, Spain, March 18, 2020. (AP PhotoEmilio Morenatti)
A bus driver wears a face mask at a bus stop near Rome's Termini station, March 25, 2020. (AP PhotoAlessandra Tarantino)
Commuters wear face masks inside a bus in Madrid, Spain, March 22, 2020. (AP PhotoBernat Armangue)
A child wears a protective mask and gloves in the subway system due to COVID-19 concerns, March 19, 2020, in New York. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
A passenger walks on an escalator in a near empty train station in Barcelona, Spain, March 16, 2020. (AP PhotoJoan Mateu)
A commuter wears a mask as a precaution against the new coronavirus, inside an almost empty subway car in Santiago, Chile, March 26, 2020. (AP PhotoEsteban Felix)
From Mexico City to Mumbai and New York to Barcelona, commuters who can get their hands on face masks rely on them for protection. Some use tissues or handkerchiefs to grasp subway poles that have been touched by untold numbers before them. When possible, passengers try to sit at a distance from each other.
Commuters wearing masks stand in a packed train at the Shinagawa Station in Tokyo, March 2, 2020. (AP PhotoJae C. Hong)
Transportation authorities are also trying to keep commuters safe. In Rio de Janeiro, soldiers clad head-to-toe in bright yellow protective suits stand in formation on a platform before disinfecting rail cars. And in Medan, Indonesia, a worker walks through a car spraying clouds of disinfectant.
Around the world, commuters are surely hoping for a return to the times when their biggest transportation concern was whether their ride arrived on time.
Soldiers stand in formation before disinfecting wagons for the new coronavirus at the central train station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where trains connect cities within the state, March 26, 2020. (AP PhotoLeo Correa)
A subway customer uses a tissue to protect her hand while holding onto a pole as COVID-19 concerns drive down commuters, March 19, 2020, in New York. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
A commuter in the metro wears a protective mask as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus in Mexico City, March 19, 2020. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
A volunteer disinfects a passenger bus as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 18, 2020. (AP PhotoMulugeta Ayene)
People wearing protective masks as a precaution against a new virus ride in an electric cart at a train station in Mumbai, India, March 17, 2020. (AP PhotoRajanish Kakade)
A worker in protective suit sprays disinfectant inside a passenger car amid fears of the new coronavirus outbreak, at a train station in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, March 16, 2020. (AP PhotoBinsar Bakkara)
Two passenger wearing protective masks sit inside a train in Barcelona, Spain, March 16, 2020. (AP PhotoJoan Mateu)
A man wearing a face mask travels by train in Barcelona, Spain, March 18, 2020. (AP PhotoEmilio Morenatti)
A bus driver wears a face mask at a bus stop near Rome's Termini station, March 25, 2020. (AP PhotoAlessandra Tarantino)
Commuters wear face masks inside a bus in Madrid, Spain, March 22, 2020. (AP PhotoBernat Armangue)
A child wears a protective mask and gloves in the subway system due to COVID-19 concerns, March 19, 2020, in New York. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
A passenger walks on an escalator in a near empty train station in Barcelona, Spain, March 16, 2020. (AP PhotoJoan Mateu)
A commuter wears a mask as a precaution against the new coronavirus, inside an almost empty subway car in Santiago, Chile, March 26, 2020. (AP PhotoEsteban Felix)