LR transit agency cuts service after 4 bus drivers test positive

Rock Region Metro said it has scheduled multiple service cuts today after the Pulaski County transit agency was notified this week that four of its regular bus drivers tested positive for covid-19.

Another 16 employees who were determined to have come in close contract with the drivers are awaiting test results or fulfilling a 14-day quarantine or both, the agency said in a news release.

A fifth bus driver tested positive for the virus on July 14. The agency’s notification of the first known positive case among its employees was June 8.

Of the five positive cases, the agency said three are considered low risk to bus riders and employees because the cases developed and were reported while the employees weren’t working. One of the five employees who tested positive this month has completed a 14-day quarantine and returned to work.

The cases also have prompted Rock Region to remove from service any vehicles operated by Rock Region employees who tested positive or employees who

had “close contact” with the positive cases.

The vehicles are being decontaminated and will undergo a waiting period before they are returned to service, the agency said.

Rock Region is notifying riders of the service cuts and

warned that additional service cuts can be expected as the agency monitors staff absences and makes adjustments.

“For almost three months, METRO was able to avoid having one employee COVID-19 case, and I want to commend our team for the extraordinary efforts they have been making to make riders feel safe and to try and reduce the risk of coronavirus

exposure,” Charles Frazier, the agency executive director, said in the release. “Unfortunately, Central Arkansas COVID-19 cases are on the rise, and our employees are central Arkansas residents.”

All bus drivers and riders have been required to wear face coverings fully covering their noses and mouths since April 20. Sneeze guards were installed on all regular-route buses by June 24 when fare

collection enforcement resumed, the agency said.

Rock Region also has stepped up sanitizing of vehicles, installed more robust air filtration systems aboard the buses and made available on-board-sanitizer stations for riders, as well as hand sanitizer stations at the River Cities Travel Center, the downtown Little Rock bus station, among other pandemic protocols.