Due to the coronavirus outbreak, SLO Transit is in the process of changing their bus schedule.
SLO Transit is currently on its academic schedule with buses available from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. They plan on switching to their summer schedule which has buses available from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
This schedule change can be implemented as soon as next week and the worst case scenario would be switching to the weekend schedule on a regular basis.
The weekend schedule has the least amount of hours starting at 8 a.m. and going until 8 p.m.
Increased sanitation and cleaning procedures have also been put into place, including cleaning as frequently as between trips and at least every 24 hours.
Hand sanitizer stations are placed on each bus and drivers encourage the use of card readers to limit their physical contact with riders.
SLO Transit has seen a decline in riders, but there has not been enough time to provide specific statistics.
The transit system does not see the decline as a bad thing. On the contrary, they're happy people are responding to precautionary measures.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), like gloves and other materials that will help reduce physical contact, will now be required for SLO Transit bus drivers to wear.
In addition, RTA and South County Transit have announced they will be cutting bus services back to a Saturday schedule with weekday Express trips. According to the San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority (RTA), this is in order to comply with California Governor Gavin Newsom’s restrictions in response to the rapid spread of COVID-19.
Along with decreased bus services, RTA says more measures will be taken to sanitize and clean the interiors of their vehicles more frequently, as well as provide all drivers with cleaning wipes.
RTA stated in a press release, “We understand that this is a dynamic and difficult situation. We will return to full service when it is determined safe to do so.”
Details regarding the specific changes to bus schedules can be found at www.slorta.org [slorta.org].
