Ridesharing protocol

This protocol is a draft. It has not yet been accepted as protocol and may be incorrect or poorly cited. Please do not use this in your work until it has been accepted.

Please see #protocols on Slack to discuss this protocol further.

This page is specific to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our covid protocol still focuses on somewhat older science relating to droplet transmission. We are currently reviewing this. It will be updated rapidly.

This is a protocol for situations when you need to share a car during the COVID-19 pandemic with someone who is not a member of your household.

When should you be ridesharing?

• You should only consider ridesharing if there is no other way to achieve an essential task such as...
  • Providing care for someone
  • Going to work
  • Attending an essential appointment
  • Leaving an unsafe situation (eg domestic violence)
• This list is non-exhaustive and there may be circumstances not on this list where you will need to ride share
• You should not rideshare if you have symptoms of COVID-19.
• However, when assessing the risks you should be mindful that the disease may still be transmitted by people who have no symptoms.

Before your journey

Planning

• Consider if there is any safer alternative way to carry out your task
• Consider whether or not anyone else needs to come, in order to limit the number of passengers
• Discuss risks and hygiene procedures with your household to check how comfortable everyone is with the potential journey
• Discuss risks with the people you will be ridesharing with and check that you are all comfortable with each other’s understanding of hygiene procedures
• Plan routes to be as quick as possible, while considering rest breaks for access reasons
• Prepare journey to minimise the need to fill up petrol - consider a separate trip to petrol station before your ridesharing journey.

Cleaning

• Clean frequently-handled areas of the vehicle with bleach solution, warm soapy water, or anti-microbial disinfectant, e.g.:
  • Outside/inside door/boot/trunk handles
  • Steering wheel
  • Gear stick and handbrake
  • Digital/radio controls
  • Seatbelts and seat belt fastenings
  • Window controls
• If using bleach solution,
  • Mix 1 part bleach to 50 parts water
  • Prepare this no more than 24 hours before you use it, as the active ingredient degrades rapidly.
  • Wear gloves to protect your skin when applying
  • Air the vehicle well during and after cleaning
  • Do not apply to seats, as it may damage the fabric/leather
• Remove rubbish such as empty drinking bottles from the car

What to take

• Take hand sanitizer if you have any
• Prepare face coverings:
  • use surgical masks if widely available, otherwise use tightly-woven cotton fabric
  • bring a change of mask/face covering if you have one, especially if your journey will last more than 2 hours.
• If you may need to eat or drink on the journey, take paper towels to lay your mask on
• Take disposable bags to store used masks and other potentially-contaminated items

During your journey

• Put on face coverings and wash hands before entering the vehicle
• Seat yourselves as far away from each other as possible
• Open all windows as widely as possible. In bad weather, leave them open as far as you can, and open them fully at regular intervals.
• Keep your faces directed towards the open windows as much as possible, especially if you feel you are going to cough or sneeze.
• Talk only when necessary during the journey - talking will increase the number of infectious particles you may emit.
• Do not use air-conditioning or heating systems which recirculate air from inside the car: this may spread infectious droplets throughout the vehicle
• For drivers - when your windows are open, maintain as much distance as possible from cyclists and pedestrians, 2m at absolute minimum
• Considering playing music or a podcast as a form of entertainment, in lieu of prolonged conversation!

Rest breaks and food

• Limit time spent at petrol stations and motor services, if you cannot avoid these.
• Use hand sanitiser after any essential stops where you cannot wash your hands.
• If you need to eat something, try to do so during a rest break outside the car, or with the car doors open.
• If you do have to eat while inside the car, make sure that you are facing an open window.
• Remove face coverings fully to eat or drink, rather than pushing them up or down. (See instructions below)
• Immediately store all used food and drink packaging, tissues, wet-wipes, etc in a disposable bag

Face coverings

• If you must remove your face covering to eat, or for any other reason:
  • Use hand sanitiser before and after you remove your face covering, or wash your hands if you are at a rest stop.
  • Handle used face coverings by the ties/earloops only. Do not touch the face area.
  • If possible, store the used face covering in a bag and put on a fresh one after eating.
  • If you will need to put the same face covering back on, place it on a disposable paper towel or tissue, outer side facing down.
  • Make sure you put it back on with the same side facing outwards.
  • Sanitise/wash your hands before and after you replace your face covering,
• Change your face covering every 2 hours, or more frequently if the fabric has become damp with moisture from your mouth.

After your journey

• Make sure everyone has safely entered their homes/destinations before driving away
• Wash your hands after leaving the vehicle, before removing your face covering
• Wash your hands again after removing your face covering
• Follow hygiene procedures of your household when returning
• Clean areas of the vehicle that are likely to have been handled on the journey, using bleach solution or soapy water