Bus Drivers Get COVID-19 Protections

CTtransit bus operator Jasmine Medina bought her baby-blue mask online. Her black rubber gloves she bought from a hairdresser, because it was the only place she could find them. From her employer, she got … silence.

Until Thursday night, when the state announced new policies aimed at protecting drivers, including directions to enter buses through the back door.

Starting immediately, passengers on CTtransit buses will board at the back of the bus, far away from the driver, in an effort to keep bus operators safe from COVID-19.

And if the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) gets its way, few people will ride the buses in the first place.

Thursday afternoon, the DOT sent out a press release announcing that passengers on CTtransit buses will enter and exit through the rear door. Only passengers in wheelchairs or who need assistance will be able to board at the front of the bus. One hundred buses on the state’s busiest routes will also be equipped with ​“transparent protective barriers” between passengers and drivers to further protect drivers from infection.

The press release stressed that only people who have to use the bus to get to and from critical jobs should use the bus. Everyone else should avoid taking public transit when at all possible.

“Some of the state’s most vulnerable residents, as well as critical health care workers, home health aides and grocery store employees rely and depend on the use of bus service,” the release stated. If people ride the buses for non-essential travel, they increase the risk of infection for the people who must rely on buses to get to critical jobs like those in the healthcare and food industries.

Fare collection happens at the front of CTtransit buses. With the front of the bus cordoned off, passengers will not be able access fare collection machines.

Kevin Nursick, a spokesperson for the DOT, did not respond directly to a question about whether the bus system would be suspending fare collection.

“Our primary focus is on providing essential travel for users with critical needs and in the safest possible fashion for passengers and drivers given these evolving circumstances,” he said. ​“That is our focus. Other considerations are secondary at this time.”

Read the full press release here.

On Wednesday, the Independent spoke with drivers and union leaders who said they were frustrated with the lack of precautions for bus drivers. (See the previous story, below.) Nursick said Thursday’s announcement was not a response to those concerns, but rather was on its way regardless of whether or not union leaders raised the alarm.

“In many circumstances we are responsive, but in this circumstance we were proactive. We did do it on our own accord,” Nursick said. He said that communication with drivers and unions is important because it helps the department respond to operators’ needs.

An earlier version of this article follows:

Bus Drivers: Protect Us, Too

CTtransit bus operator Jasmine Medina bought her baby-blue mask online. Her black rubber gloves she bought from a hairdresser, because it was the only place she could find them. From her employer, she got … silence.

“Yeah, I’m freaking out,” she said as she sat at the wheel of her bus on Chapel Street, next to the New Haven Green. She has a daughter at home and an ailing mother-in-law who she and her husband can’t care for because they’re working. ​“I want her in my house, but I can’t keep her there because I’m scared I’m going to get her sick,” she said.

And she can’t afford to lose her paycheck. ​“We don’t want to call out because we fear losing our jobs,” she said.

As the nation goes on lockdown to prevent the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19 virus, employers everywhere are modifying operations to keep their employees safe.

Yet few changes or precautions have come for the workers who sit at the wheels of enclosed state-owned buses as a stream of potentially infected people stream in and out, according to bus drivers and union leaders.

On Wednesday, Medina got lucky as she waited to start her drive on the 241 route, which goes up Goffe Street. By the time she drove off, she had only one passenger on the bus. Clearly, people were staying away from public transit.

Across the state, CTtransit ridership is down 50 to 80 percent, said Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) Director of Communications Kevin Nursick. In the New Haven area, he said, the number is closer to the 50 percent figure.

Nursick said the state has to maintain some level of public transportation. People who work in essential industries like healthcare use the buses to get to and from work. But everyone else should stay away from public transportation.

“We’re strongly advocating that the public only use public transit for essential travel,” he said. ​“It’s important to keep it functioning as long as we can. And on the flip side, it’s important to discourage discretionary travel.”

Lower ridership helps keep drivers safe, but the bus drivers and union representatives who spoke with the Independent said they want more precautions for drivers.

Ralph Buccitti, who is the business agent and financial secretary for Amalgamated Transit Union Local 281, said he knows of four drivers in the New Haven service area who are self-isolating at home because they’re feeling sick. Stamford-based ATU Local 443 President Veronica Chavers said she knows of two drivers in the Stamford area who are home sick.

CTtransit, whose property is owned by the state, though the company is managed by HNS Management, has stepped up its daily cleaning routine. Buses are cleaned and sanitized every day, said Nursick. In normal times, they would be cleaned daily, but not sanitized.

Daily sanitizing is still not enough, said Chavers. ​“We’re on the front line, and they’re not treating it like we are.”

Change On The Way

Chavers (pictured), Buccitti, and other union officials said they want the DOT to step in and enact changes to keep bus drivers safe. Some of their wishes might be on the way.

“We’re cognizant that there is a concern on the part of the drivers, and we are actively working on options that can minimize their exposure, and we hope to have something additional to say about that very soon,” said Nursick. He said he could not comment on the details of what those options might be.

Whether or not they’re what the state has in the works, bus drivers and their union representatives have ideas.

Buccitti said he has been getting non-stop texts from bus drivers who are worried about how the state, and their employer, are going to keep them safe. He said he frequently gets texts about rumors that drivers are out sick. Indeed, four drivers in the New Haven are self-isolating, he said. But CTtransit’s management has not communicated any of that to its workers.

First, Buccitti said, he wants the CTtransit to communicate clearly about the novel coronavirus with employees. 

He said he also wants gathering protocols to change. Every morning, drivers congregate at the CTtransit facility in Hamden to start their daily routes, which means bringing a large group together in the same place — exactly what the government has ordered people not to do. He said there should be a way to make sure drivers are never congregating in large groups, either in the morning or on their breaks.

In some places, like Washington and Illinois, bus systems have suspended fare collection because of the contact it requires between bus operators and passengers. Buccitti said that might be a good option for CTtransit. That would allow operators to open only the back door for passengers to enter and exit the bus. The seats directly behind the driver could be cordoned off to create a safe distance between operators and passengers.

Though health officials have said that masks do not do much to protect most people from contracting the virus, and that healthy people should leave them for the healthcare workers who need them more, drivers have tried to get them to protect themselves. Some have also brought their own cleaning supplies to work so they can keep their buses clean throughout the day.

As VJ Hoosian (pictured above) got off her shift at the green, she carried a brief case with a yellow tub of Clorox wipes and a can of Lysol disinfectant spray. She said she had bought them herself. Even with the lower ridership, ​“you still have passengers in your face asking questions,” she said.

She had harsh words for the lack of communication from her employer. ​“They don’t do nothing. We’re hearing a lot of rumors, but they don’t seem to care. They seem to be doing everything on a hush hush basis.”

The Bathroom Break Issue, Again

Only nine months ago, CTtransit drivers won a provision in their contract ensuring them access to a bathroom during their shifts. Now, with businesses closed, drivers are again finding themselves needing a restroom, with no possibilities in sight.

On Wednesday, Barry Carothers had to use a bathroom when he got to the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford. He usually has a 10- to 15-minute break there, and uses the bathroom at Target.

But on Wednesday, when he got to Target, the bathroom was closed. So, he and another driver who was also looking for a bathroom found an elevator and took it up two floors to see if they could find anything. They finally ended up in a parking lot, and maintenance workers let them use their bathroom.

Buccitti said that drivers usually use the bathroom at designated businesses along their routes. Now that many businesses are closed or are restricting their operations, their bathrooms are no longer available. He said the problem is especially pronounced for drivers who do nighttime routes because restaurants and bars are closed, and those are often the only businesses open late.

Carothers said he and other drivers are having trouble finding bathrooms wherever they go. ​“Everywhere we’re going: Sorry. Closed. Closed,” he said.