ALBANY – CDTA has installed commercial grade air purification systems on its buses.
That is in addition to the daily deep cleanings crews have been doing on the vehicles since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
The device purifiers, which use “active air purification,” are from United Safety and Survivability Corp.
Using hydroperoxides, the devices have been used in the medical community for years. They pass untreated air over a purification system that uses water and UV as well as ionization to activate hydroperoxides which kill pathogens.
According to the manufacturers, the devices eliminate over 99 percent of the germs, microbes, viruses, bacteria and volatile organic compounds in the air and on surfaces, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
CDTA has also installed mask dispensers on all of its buses.
In addition to the purifiers, real-time occupancy data is now available on all fixed-route buses. Customers can check bus arrival times and view the vehicle capacity prior to boarding, with color-coded indicators: not crowded (blue), some crowding (yellow), or crowded (red). Customers can view this information on www.cdta.org.
Riders also have touchless payment options with the Navigator mobile application that offers a variety of fare products, real time schedule information and trip planning.
Protective barriers also have been installed in the buses driver compartment since summer of 2020 on all buses. They are designed to protect operators and improve the safety and security of the entire system. This equipment is used at transit systems throughout the country.
CDTA spokeswoman Jaime Kazlo noted that ridership continues to recover from the depths of the pandemic. Ridership in November was 1.03 million, or 32 percent more than last November. That also was the third consecutive month with ridership at or above one million. Overall, daily ridership is about 80 percent of where it was pre-pandemic. Before COVID-19 CDTA had about 60,000 boards per day.
Source: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/CDTA-installs-air-purifiers-on-its-buses-16764976.php