SAN ANTONIO — VIA Metropolitan Transit has more than 500 buses and 140 vans that travel across San Antonio daily. They say they're making sure anyone using public transportation is as safe as possible during the coronavirus crisis.
VIA says while there have been no cases linked to transit use in our region, and federal health officials maintain that the risk to the general public for contracting the virus remains low, protecting their passengers and employees is their top priority. Jeffrey Arndt, VIA CEO and President told us, "The welfare of our employees is vital to the safety of our customers because the operator needs to be in good physical condition to operate the vehicle safely. Our thought process is everyone arrives home safely."
Every bus and van is cleaned and disinfected daily at the end of its run. Transit Centers and Park & Ride facilities are cleaned daily, including floors, surfaces, handles, handrails, and other high-touch areas. Restrooms are cleaned at least 3 times a day. Public hand sanitizing stations are now in VIA service areas, offices, customer service areas Transit Centers, and and Park & Ride facilities. And operators are provided hand sanitizer to use between washing.
VIA says they have no more buses to add onto the roads to aid in social distancing, but that more buses aren't needed. Arndt said, "Inherently as we run the current schedule, as we have ridership fall off based upon folks that are teleworking or offices are closed for example, we would expect social distancing to be a bit easier."
For more information on what VIA is doing to keep you as safe as possible, check out their website here.