SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – In light of Mayor London Breed declaring a local state of emergency, many people in the Bay Area are becoming increasingly concerned about the number of coronavirus cases growing.

Bart riders like Marcia Seidler say they’re more concerned now than ever about the threat of the coronavirus making its way to San Francisco.

“It’s very serious because it seems to be spreading rapidly,” Seidler said. “I take public transportation a lot and I’ve actually not been taking it as much.

Another rider, Ritesh Agarwal discusses his concerns, “It’s definitely concerning me and my family. My family’s really worried and I’m traveling public transportation. A lot of traffic. Lot of people in the cars in the train.”

While there’s still zero confirmed cases of the coronavirus in San Francisco, Mayor London Breed declared a local state of emergency on Tuesday saying the city needs to step up its preparedness.

Many commuters wonder what that looks like on public transportation — where the city’s most vulnerable.

Another Bart rider, Mary Ann Richichi says, “I’m not really sure what they can do I mean unless they’re gonna pay to have people go through the cars every night, try to sanitize them which would probably be a good idea but I don’t know what cost that would be to the city but it would certainly be helpful.” 

Seidler adds, “Providing hand sanitizer when you’re getting on the bus or near bus stops.”

Another rider, Ed Sweeney avoids touching anything inside of Bart at all costs, “I don’t touch anything on public transportation. It’s too dirty for me in the beginning. If we cleaned it up a little bit, maybe I would sit down.”

District One Bart Director, Debora Allen says they’re monitoring the situation but right now there are no specific warnings to Bart riders.

“We’ve been through this before with sars and right now there’s similar emergency management plans being developed,” said Allen. 

The city’s transportation agency SFMTA had a similar response saying right now there are no specific risks to the city.

Kron4 reached out to three other transportation agencies across the Bay Aream but they have not responded.

None of the agencies had any specific steps or plans in place at the moment.

Commuters say it’s up to us to monitor our own health and stay at home when you’re sick.