Safety screens on buses to minimise the risk of infection

The goal is to protect workers providing bus services as the increase in mobility will mean a progressive increase in demand. The screens will enable passengers to get on via the door at the front again, making it easier to control the capacity permitted and maintain distances between people.

07/05/2020 13:05 h

Ecologia Urbana

In a move to offer more safety for drivers of municipal and inter-municipal buses and protect them against possible infection by Covid-19, the main bus operators, Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) and Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB), have started fitting their fleets with safety screens.

As lockdown measures are gradually lifted, the provision and demand for public transport will also increase, meaning even greater caution will be needed when it comes to measures to protect staff.

As bus drivers are more exposed to contact with other people, the screens will provide them with more protection.

As an essential service, public transport has continued to operate throughout the health crisis, continually adapting to demand and ensuring mobility in situations where its use was unavoidable, and maintaining the occupancy ratios set out by the health authorities.

Long-term protection systems

Provisional systems have been used to protect staff to date, requiring passengers to get on and off vehicles via the door at the rear and sealing off the driver’s area with tape to prevent passengers from using it,

Now, the installation of safety screens offers a long-term solution as the access at the front of the vehicle can be used. This makes it easier to control the passenger capacity permitted by the preventive safety measures. 

The first safety screens were fitted on metropolitan buses (AMB) last week and the entire fleet of 758 buses should all have screens within a month.

Permanent screens will also be fitted to the entire TMB fleet of 1,140 buses, of various dimensions.

SOURCE: TMB

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