BC Transit buses in Port Alberni will soon be equipped with full driver doors designed to protect the health and safety of drivers.
The full driver door is a movable barrier situated to the right of the driver’s seat near the fare box. They were designed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to increase protection for BC Transit drivers. The door includes a transparent piece of laminated tempered glass with anti-glare coating and metal base and the windows can be adjusted to account for sightlines associated with different seat positions.
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The full driver door installations will be carried out over a roughly two-day period, with the new doors replacing the current vinyl panels installed as protective barriers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Community and handyDART buses in both the conventional and custom systems will continue to be equipped with vinyl panels.
While the installation process is taking place, passengers will experience no impact to service levels, according to BC Transit.
BC Transit says 633 buses will be retrofitted with full driver doors across 34 transit systems in the province by early October. All future new buses in the fleet will arrive with the doors pre-installed.