King County Metro to start cleaning buses daily to limit coronavirus spread

King County Metro will be increasing the frequency of cleaning to help protect passengers from the spread of coronavirus at the direction of Executive Dow Constantine.

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“High touch” areas, including buttons, handholds, pull cords, rails, and stanchions will be cleaned more frequently starting Tuesday evening.

King County Metro reported on March 3 that “night crews will begin to clean every bus in Metro’s fleet using a bleach solution to wipe down high-touch surfaces … and disinfect the transit operator’s work area.”

🌙🚌🚎 Night crews will begin to clean every bus in Metro’s fleet using a bleach solution to wipe down high-touch surfaces such as buttons, handholds, pull cords, rails, and stanchions and disinfect the transit operator’s work area.https://t.co/AuAuPB42i1

— King County Metro 🚏 🚌🚎⛴🚐 (@kcmetrobus) March 4, 2020

Maintenance staff have transitioned to a daily procedure to broadly spray a stronger disinfectant on buses.

On Feb. 28, 2020, in response to rider inquiries, Metro said that garbage is removed and buses are vacuumed daily. All interior bus surfaces are deep cleaned every 30 days, though crews will clean more frequently in the event of an incident or report.

When there is an unsanitary condition reported, it is standard practice for Metro staff to take the bus out of service immediately for cleaning and disinfecting.

Metro Access vehicles are cleaned daily, and water taxi crews clean hand rails, tabletops, and seats every day.

King County Metro is “coordinating closely with Public Health and will respond to direction they give the public regarding reducing risk of exposure to the virus.”

The county’s public health recommendations for personal hygiene apply to riding transit as well. Metro asks passengers to follow the direction of the public health department, and advises anyone with symptoms of the virus to stay home and telework whenever possible.

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If you see something that needs attention, Metro asks passengers to alert your driver, a transit employee, or call customer service offices at 206-533-3000. You can also reach King County Metro on Twitter.

For current and future updates from Metro regarding the coronavirus response, visit this page.