The TTC will stop accepting cash, tickets, and tokens on all of its bus routes and will ask passengers to only use the vehicles’ rear doors in effort to protect the agency’s drivers from the spread of COVID-19.

The TTC announced the changes in a news release Monday, in which it also said it was suspending most express bus services in response a 70-per-cent drop in ridership systemwide.

The transit agency has already taken some steps to address concerns of bus, streetcar, and subway operators worried about the contracting the virus from passengers, including deciding Wednesday to lift its ban on employees wearing face masks on the job.

In a statement Monday, TTC CEO Rick Leary said the agency took the additional steps “to prioritize the safety of our employees and customers.”

“We continue to focus on physical distancing, social equity, and ensuring we match capacity to demand,” he said.

Carlos Santos, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, said his members would be happy with the changes.

“It’s one added level of security and it’s one less thing they now have to worry about,” said Santos, whose union represents more than 11,500 TTC workers.

He said he wished the TTC had made the changes sooner, “but at least it’s been done.”

With bus fare boxes being decommissioned for the time being, drivers are being instructed to keep the protective barriers in their cabs closed at all times.

Until further notice, the only way for bus riders to pay on the vehicles will be with the Presto fare card, which is now used by more than 90 per cent of TTC customers.

TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said riders who don’t have Presto will be asked to pay when they arrive at their destination if they’re headed to a subway station.

He declined to answer directly when asked whether riders who don’t have Presto and don’t pay will face a fine from transit officers, but said the “focus of fare inspectors right now is on customer service and education.”

Although bus riders will be asked to only use the rear doors, the TTC said in its release that riders with mobility issues who require the accessibility ramp can board at the front.

The switch to rear-door boarding and exiting is a change from just last week, when the TTC said it wanted passengers to use all doors in order to prevent crowding at the front of the bus.

“This is an evolving situation and we are adapting to it and making adjustments in consultation with out frontline employees,” Green explained.

While the agency has continued to operate at close to regular service levels since the COVID crisis shuttered much of the city last week, the agency said Monday it’s suspending all 900-series express bus services except the 900 Airport Express, 903 Kenney-Scarborough Centre Express, and 927 Highway 27 Express. Buses on the suspended routes will be reallocated where they’re needed, but regular service will continue along those lines with service every 10 minutes or better.

The TTC is also suspending the 140 Downtown Express and 176 Mimico GO bus routes, and the 508 Lake Shore streetcar route.

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The agency said it will continue to monitor ridership and staffing levels “in order to effectively match service deliverability with availability.”

The ridership decline from COVID-19 has already cost the TTC millions of dollars. Last Tuesday the agency recorded a drop of 50 to 60 per cent, which it said would translate into $14 million in lost fare revenue every week.

The latest figures show the ridership has only declined further since that day.