Georgia Xpress buses prepped to combat coronavirus

Metro Atlanta’s Xpress bus service has announced cleaning measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus. BRANDEN CAMP/SPECIAL

Metro Atlanta’s Xpress bus service has announced cleaning measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus. BRANDEN CAMP/SPECIAL

Metro Atlanta's Xpress bus service is taking steps to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the State Road and Tollway Authority announced Wednesday.

The agency said it has begun an “enhanced cleaning regimen” that includes daily cleaning of equipment, high-touch areas and high foot-traffic areas. That involves cleaning products the agency says eliminate 99.9 percent of germs. The cleaning also includes daily trash disposal and daily inspections of buses.

In addition, SRTA says it’s conducting anti-viral “deep cleaning” of 10-15 buses per day. At that rate, most of its fleet gets a deep cleaning by the end of each week.

SRTA said bus drivers have been provided hand sanitizer, germicidal wipes and spray to be used in driver and dispatch areas. And the agency said it’s increasing staffing and buying more supplies to expand deep-cleaning efforts.

Nearly 7,800 people a day board the Xpress bus system, which serves 13 metro Atlanta counties.

“The health of Georgia’s citizens, our workforce and workplace safety are top priorities for everyone so we’ve enhanced our cleaning regimen to ensure that our riders can continue to commute with confidence,” said SRTA Executive Director Chris Tomlinson.

SRTA is the latest transit agency to announce efforts designed to combat the coronavirus. Last week, MARTA announced its own enhanced cleaning efforts.