The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Jitney drivers yesterday said they are looking at a near-50 percent capacity reduction on their buses as the COVID-19 “new normal” whenever they get the go-ahead to resume operations.

Harrison Moxey, the United Public Transportation Company’s (UPTC) president, told Tribune Business: “Well, we definitely aren’t getting smaller buses. That’s for sure. That’s a cost that we would incur that we cannot bear. We have some options where we can have passenger spacing for them to wear the mask, and also to have hand sanitiser automatic upon entry.

“We are also looking at putting a clear plastic casement around the driver, probably with just a cut off all the way around. We have written to the prime minister for us to activate a smart-fare collection system. These are the options we are planning to institute in the near future.”

Mr Moxey added: “The jump-seats don’t have to be removed, but they don’t have to be in use. So we probably would do something like a 15 passenger maximum, because the buses can seat 29, with proper spacing until there is an all-clear.

“We can have the seats marked in the bus, and you would know how many passengers you can seat. Passengers would know exactly where they would need to sit. So you will have every other seat, with no more than three in the back seats.

“The seats are already one behind the other, and on the opposite end you would have one passenger in the double row seats instead of two passengers and not use the jump seats. That would total to about 15 passengers. However that total works out will be the maximum.”

Mr Moxey warned, though: “You would have to ride with the windows open for the time being with no air-conditioning, and both passenger and driver will wear face masks. We can weigh the options and get from the health officials the advantages and disadvantages for using the air conditioning.”

Meanwhile Rudolph Taylor, the Bahamas Unified Bus Drivers Union’s (BUDU) president, said: “We have to sit down and wait on what the Government says after May 30. Other than that we can’t say anything else. We just have to wait patiently.

“We will not force people to wear masks, but we will try to make it known that they will have to wear it as well as practice social distancing once we get back on the road.

“Drivers in the United States and other parts of the world are being affected greatly, and it’s a big loss for bus drivers in those parts of the world. I have been doing some research and they aren’t holding up well. In fact, some persons weren’t even given the opportunity to wear masks, so that was a problem.”

Mr Taylor said that while he does not want persons to get “suffocated within the bussing system”, the union is looking into what health and safety protocols will have to be implemented. He added that it was discussing providing “partition dividers” on the seats for passengers as a way to create space. If that is not acceptable, passenger capacity will have to be reduced from 30 to 15.

“Just how they have the airplanes saying that the middle seat is not a seat passengers can sit in, we will do the same thing and put that in effect and greatly enforce it,” Mr Taylor said. “It has to be enforced in a way where persons would have to adhere, including the drivers as well as the public, because if they do not then we will still could have a spread.”

“On top of that we are going to be making sure that persons do not turn on the air conditioning. We have to leave the windows open and the doors open, where persons can have a constant flow of air.”

“Also, the buses have to be sanitised though the day. If you take a break after two or three hours of driving, you need to stop, wipe down and sanitise with your Lysol or your Pine Sol. These are things we are looking at,” continued Mr Taylor.

“The buses have to be wiped down on a constant basis. This was being enforced before the COVID-19 came into effect. For most of the time, they are sparkling clean. So they take pride in the inside and outside of their buses. In some buses, persons are not allowed to even eat or drink on the bus.”