By Nia Bender
COLORADO SPRINGS – One bus driver and two other employees who work for RATP-Dev, Mountain Metropolitan Transit’s fixed-route contractor, tested positive for COVID-19. The employees haven’t been at work since October 26th. Other staff members who were potentially exposed to the virus are in self-isolation and are following testing protocol.
The El Paso County Public Health Department is investigating the outbreak, which is defined as two or more confirmed cases within 14 days in the same facility. El Paso County Public Health officials are encouraging anyone who used Mountain Metro fixed-route bus service between October 19th – 26th, to monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and seek testing if they’re symptomatic.
All Mountain Metro buses are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected every evening with products approved by the EPA for coronavirus disinfecting. Bus drivers and passengers are required to wear masks and teams are spraying seats, steering wheels, handles, buckles, stop request-pull cords, and other high-touch areas throughout the day.
On top of the virus issue, Mountain Metro is experiencing a shortage of reporting bus drivers. Fixed-route bus service reductions are being implemented as follows:
There are no cuts to the ADA Paratransit service
Weekend bus service on Routes 1, 3, 5, 7, 25, and 27 moved from 30-minute frequency to 60-minute frequency
Route 15 is canceled
Routes 12 and 35 canceled
Route 5 leaving from downtown to the Citadel at 1:00pm, 3:15pm, and 5:30pm
Route 5 leaving from the Citadel to downtown at 12:37pm, 2:50pm, and 5:05pm
Riders are encouraged to go to Mountain Metro’s alert webpage and visit on facebook and twitter for the latest updates.
More information can also be found at their website. Click here. Or call them at (719) 385-RIDE (7433).
