JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Greyhound bus driver told News4Jax that he believes the bus company isn’t doing enough to protect its drivers and passengers from the coronavirus.
The driver, who in fear of losing his job asked not to be identified, said buses are not being professionally cleaned at stops between New York and Miami. Jacksonville is on that route, and he said little is being done at the Jacksonville stop to prevent the potential spread of the virus.
“Each day they send a message out saying that we’re making sure all the buses are clean, telling passengers the buses are clean, when they’re not clean,” the driver said. "The only thing they might do is dump the bus, take the trash off and run a mop through it.”
The driver claims he and other drivers have to provide their own sanitizing wipes and at times will give a passenger a wipe to sanitize anything they might touch. He also claimed there was a scare involving a passenger.
“The passenger came down from New York. He was showing symptoms inside the terminal and on the bus," the driver said.
The driver said the passenger was taken to a hospital.
“They had the driver continue his schedule back up to Fayetteville, North Carolina," the driver said.
A statement from Greyhound reads:
"We continue to work closely with our teams at our owned terminals and outside agencies working on our behalf, like Jacksonville, to ensure the enhanced proper sanitization procedures are being followed in accordance with our coronavirus protocol, which includes:
- Increased cleaning efforts surrounding our most frequently used areas including restrooms, door handles and counters.
- Increased cleaning in more areas, more frequently, at our terminals.
- Requiring employees sign a thorough checklist of sanitized objects and areas after the conclusion of each shift.
- Equipping maintenance staff with supplies for routine, post trip sanitization of buses.
“Our team members and cleaning agencies are thoroughly trained in sanitation procedures, with a specific emphasis on coronavirus preparedness. They have each been provided with an abundance of supplies for properly disinfecting and sanitizing employee and customer areas. We will continue enforcing proper cleaning protocols as recommended by the CDC throughout all our locations.”