Foothill Transit joins a national commitment to the health and safety of our customers.

Foothill Transit has joined the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and transit agencies across the nation in committing to specific measures to help ensure that customers can safely use our service as the U.S. works to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. APTA’s national “Health and Safety Commitments Program” seeks to show riders exactly what transit agencies are doing to help keep transit as safe as possible and slow the spread of COVID-19. We commit to continuing the following practices.

• Following official guidance on safe riding practices from health experts and agencies.
• Protecting customers through cleaning, disinfecting, good ventilation, and providing as much room for physical distancing as practical.
• Requiring the use of face coverings by team members and riders.
• Sharing information that will empower riders to make informed choices.
• Ensuring transit workers and customers are healthy.
• Asking riders to do their part by wearing face coverings, practicing physical distancing when possible, following best health practices, and avoiding transit when not feeling well.

Transit agencies and their customers across the nation are facing unprecedented challenges due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Despite those challenges, Foothill Transit has continued to ensure that our customers have safe, accessible transportation to do the essential work and activities so necessary to our communities. We recognize that transit remains a lifeline to healthcare professionals, first responders, grocery and pharmacy employees, and to people who need us to get them to medical appointments, markets, and other critical services. Keeping everyone as safe as possible on Foothill Transit is essential to the recovery of the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys from COVID-19, and here are just a few ways we’re doing that.

Enhanced Cleaning

Foothill Transit’s team cleans and disinfects high-touch surfaces on our buses after each trip, and that’s on top of daily full-bus disinfection. We use EPA-approved disinfectants that that can kill germs beyond their immediate application. Our facilities are also undergoing enhanced cleaning, and we’ve equipped all our team members with barriers as appropriate and plenty of PPE like face coverings and hand sanitizer.

Community Health

Foothill Transit is coordinating closely with the L.A. County Department of Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on riding guidelines. We continue to urge riders to travel only to perform essential activities, which include commuting to an essential job; visiting a doctor or veterinarian; obtaining medical supplies or medication; grocery shopping for yourself or others; providing care for minors, seniors, dependents and persons with disabilities or other vulnerabilities; legally mandated government purposes, and to comply with law enforcement or court orders. Face coverings are required on Foothill Transit, and riders should maintain physical distance whenever possible while using the system. In addition, we’ll continue to remind riders to follow best hygiene practices such as sneezing or coughing into a tissue or your arm and handwashing frequently with soap and warm water.

Air Filtration and Ventilation Safety

Our operations team has been working tirelessly to ensure that the air riders breathe is safe. Our buses use high-quality air filters that clean and recirculate air at a high rate. The opening and closing of bus doors — which happens frequently — also helps circulate air.

Crowding

With physical distancing of paramount importance during the COVID-19 crisis, we’re doing everything we can to avoid crowding on buses. Foothill Transit is currently running 99 percent of the service that we ran in February. This serves a current ridership of about 61 percent of our pre-pandemic numbers, which helps accommodate physical distancing where practical. Foothill Transit has also paused enforcement of fares, allowing customers to board quickly through the rear door.