Annapolis city buses to be equipped with plexiglass barriers
The Annapolis Department of Transportation (ADOT) is implementing an additional safety measure for bus operators while operating city of Annapolis, Md., transit buses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"After seeing the story about Jason Hargrove, the Detroit bus operator who lost his life to COVID-19, I challenged staff to come up with additional protective measures for operators," said Transportation Director Rick Gordon.
ADOT bus operators are issued gloves, face coverings and hand sanitizer.
Gordan said that in a cross-departmental collaboration, Adonis "Grip" Bishop, facility maintenance technician for the city's department of public works (DPW), came up with the idea of using plexiglass to separate the bus operator from passengers entering the bus.
Bishop cut the plexiglass to be fitted around the driver's cabin so as to not interfere with the driver or passengers entering the bus. The installation has begun on the small buses, starting with paratransit. A similar solution will be outfitted for larger buses in the fleet. Using plexiglass is more cost-effective than purchasing and installing specially-designed equipment, says ADOT.
"Our city is working together to find innovative solutions," said Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley. "Every day we find ourselves confronted with new and seemingly insurmountable problems. A few days later, someone in our city comes up with an answer. This is brilliant and I thank Director Gordon for crowd sourcing the solution and especially Mr. Bishop for figuring it out."
