By Vivian Roach | Staff Writer
The Waco Transit System has taken precautions and shortens service hours to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Waco Transit System general manager, Serena Stevenson announced in a press release Monday that the transit system would only allow up to 10 people at a time on each vehicle. She also asked passengers to follow social distancing practices by avoiding seats indicated as unavailable.
The transit system’s fixed route service hours, routes around the city of Waco and the Baylor University Shuttle (BUS) have also been modified. Fixed route service hours have been shortened to 7:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., Monday through Saturday, until further notice.
The Waco Transit System also offers a service to passengers with disabilities. The demand response service hours, which provides door-to-door transportation for passengers with disabilities will remain the same. However, trips are limited to medical appointments, access to food and work.
Many students take the BUS when class is in-person from their residences to campus. Waco citizens rely on the transit system as their everyday transportation.
Waco Transit System marketing coordinator, Veronica Brady, said the Waco Transit System was taking additional steps to combat the virus in addition to those outlined in the press release.
“We have moved extra staff to cleaning the vehicles and we have posted on each bus a coronavirus information poster,” Brady said.
The free shuttle service around downtown Waco, the Silo District Trolley stopped service operations Tuesday, March 17. Many visitors to Waco take this route to hop-on and hop-off throughout the day while visiting local shops and restaurants.
The transit system said they urge passengers to follow these practices in order to remain serving the citizens of Waco with public transportation. They said they are take these precautions in the best interest of the health of their employees and Waco citizens
Stevenson said in the press release, “We apologize for any inconvenience, but your cooperation and adherence to these practices will allow Waco Transit System to continue to provide essential transportation services to the citizens of Waco and surrounding communities.”
Additional information and any changes to the services can be found on the Waco Transit Facebook page and Twitter.
