As social distancing becomes the new norm at the University of Connecticut, all HuskyGo passengers will be required to adhere to new guidelines while riding, such as wearing a mask, according to university spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz.
In addition, HuskyGo buses will be cleaned and disinfected each night and cleaned during driver change periods throughout the day in order to minimize the impact of on-time performance.
“Passengers will see our drivers sitting behind custom clear polycarbonate barriers,” Reitz said. “Driver barriers are engineering controls recommended by the CDC.”
Green decals have been placed on seats that are socially distanced six-feet apart from each other.
“While the capacity of HuskyGo buses will not be limited to the green-sticker seats, no standees will be allowed on our shuttle buses during the fall semester,” Reitz said.
Buses that reach seated capacity will display a ”next bus please” message on the bus marquee sign, and cannot board any additional passengers until the occupancy is sufficiently reduced.
“CDC identifies a COVID-19 ‘close contact’ as one involving a person remaining within six-feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes,” Reitz said. “Few, if any, of our passengers will be aboard any of our buses for more than 15 minutes.”
Passengers will be required to enter through the rear doors unless they require the use of kneeling access. Other modifications include rerouting buses to account for demands in certain areas.
“Commuter students are not being assigned parking on Lot K during the fall semester,” Reitz said. “The shuttle bus that was used to provide Lot K service last semester will be used to provide additional assistance to Charter Oak Apartments, where peak demand has been high.”
Naiela Suleiman is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at naiela.suleiman@uconn.edu.