3 drivers for Freedom Transit test positive for COVID-19
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A driver sits behind a plexiglass shield on a bus.
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A plexiglass shield installed on a bus.
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A plexiglass shield installed on a bus.
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A plexiglass shield installed on a bus.
Three drivers for Freedom Transit have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to information released Friday morning, and the agency is asking riders to wear masks.
All three work for First Transit, the subcontractor for the Washington County Transportation Authority.
Two of the drivers operated shared-ride paratransit service, and the third was a fixed-route driver behind the wheel on the County Line B route, which travels among Washington, Canonsburg and Monongahela via Peters Township and Finleyville.
Of the two shared-ride drivers who tested positive for COVID-19, one last worked on March 20 while the other last worked on March 31.
Freedom Transit has contacted all shared-ride passengers who may have been exposed to the drivers.
The fixed-route driver handled the County Line B route several times during the week of March 16, before last working on March 20.
“Freedom Transit advises any customer who has concerns about potential exposure to follow Centers for Disease Control guidelines and self-monitor for symptoms,” the public transportation’s Alexandra Sakalik, outreach and marketing coordinator, wrote in a news release.
“Anyone who begins to exhibit symptoms should contact their health care provider.”
Information about the drivers’ current circumstances was vague.
“All three drivers are following the medical guidance they received from their health care provider,” Sakalik wrote in response to an email inquiry.
She said Freedom Transit and both of its subcontractors, First Transit and Tri-County Access, have been working to ensure all drivers are taking necessary precautions in safely transporting passengers. Buses are being sanitized daily and during operation.
“Drivers have been asked to follow the governor’s guidance to wear face masks,” Sakalik said. The agency “strongly encourages” riders to do so as well.
Public transit has been deemed an essential business, and Freedom Transit is asking riders to make only essential trips.
To limit interaction between drivers and passengers, Freedom Transit suspended payment of fares earlier this week.
Before the pandemic hit, Freedom Transit was moving approximately 800 people on shared-ride paratransit each business day, but the total has fallen off to 275, according to Sheila Gombita, executive director of the agency.
Fixed-route service, which had been serving 400 commuters each business day, is down to about 75.
Meanwhile, the Mid Mon Valley Transit Authority said Friday all of its drivers are healthy and wearing masks on the job.
Authority executive director Ashley Seman said its maintenance crew retrofitted the buses with plexiglass shields to help prevent the drivers from being exposed to the virus.
Staff writer Scott Beveridge contributed to this report.