Public transportation suffered a severe blow during the coronavirus outbreak as people followed guidelines to stay at least 6 feet away from others — a formidable challenge on subways and buses.

In order to lure passengers back, many cities have implemented health safety measures to restore faith in public transit not only for the industry itself, but also to help cities recover.

“If we don’t figure out how to get these mass transit systems going again, so people feel safe and comfortable, we’re not going to get cities up and running,” Scott Corwin, a mobility expert with Deloitte Consulting, told Axios.

New York begins a phased reopening of subway and bus service next week after being shut down since March. Riders and employees will be required to wear face masks that will be available at vending machines or from Metropolitan Transit Authority personnel. Stations will provide hand sanitizers and have floor markings indicating where people can stand. Other cities are taking similar measures, according to Axios.

San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is going even further to ensure health safety of its passengers by making trains longer and limiting the number of passengers on board to allow 6 feet of distance between them. BART will also increase the frequency of the trains to prevent overcrowding.

Axios reported that public transit agencies are using hospital grade disinfectants to sanitize stations, trains and buses, and at night, spray vehicles with a disinfectant fogger that clings to surfaces.

The Centers for disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued safety guidelines for public transportation urging passengers to thoroughly wash their hands before and after using public transportation and to avoid touching their face while traveling.

The CDC encourages wearing masks and trying to keep 6 feet away from other passengers on vehicles or waiting at the station. This may require traveling at non-peak hours. The agency also recommends entering and exiting through rear doors if possible and to avoid touching surfaces such as turnstiles or kiosks.

Despite the improvements planned, a recent survey by IBM of consumer behavior indicated that 20% of those who regularly used public transportation said they aren’t willing to travel shoulder-to-shoulder again and 28% said they would do so less often.