Keeping Transportation Safe Post-COVID
Responding to the
new normal in the
transit industry
As various industries do their part to support social distancing
measures, the “new normal” way of operating has posed challenges,
and driven innovation. The transit industry is no exception, and
as transit operators have continued to play a key role in supporting
essential services and providing transport for those who need
it, they have also been searching for solutions that support safe,
distanced travel.
“We as an industry must pull together and work on innovations
that will increase passengers’ confidence and loads per trip, while
also keeping within the social distancing guidelines,” said Brent
Sumrall, chief executive officer at FMS.
DryVGard was designed after discussions with many transit
agencies struggling to address drivers protection on cutaway
vehicles, according to Frank Dopp, chief technology officer of FMS.
While DryVGard was initially designed specifically for the cutaway
market, requests from several agencies to modify the design to
allow a similar quick retrofit for heavy duty transit buses led FMS
to expand the product’s applications. Designs for those models are
now underway.
To bring these designs to production, FMS is working with Urban
Solar, whose Oregon-based manufacturing roots and industryleading
experience in bus stop and zone safety solutions made for a
logical partnership.
The resulting product combines high-quality materials, including
scratch-resistant polycarbonate and nylon-bonded, single-piece
hinges, with a purposeful design that can be adjusted based on
the vehicle or driver needs. With quick turnaround from order to
implementation, and an installation process that works with existing
OEM bus hardware, DryVGard is a timely and effective solution that
can help transit agencies increase operations without sacrificing the
distancing required to protect drivers and passengers.
“Our experience as the industry leader in security lighting for
transit has taught us that people take transit when they feel safe,”
said Jeff Peters, president of Urban Solar. “People have well-founded
trust in their local transit agencies. Our engineers and partners are
currently working on developing additional safety solutions that will
help agencies ensure that public transit plays a leading role in our
nation’s recovery.”
To play that role, transit industry professionals need cost-effective
and easily adopted solutions to help them continue to operate as
safely as possible. In these unprecedented times, reliability, safety,
confidence and speedy implementation are the keys to getting transit
With communities beginning to reopen and transit ridership
expected to increase, these solutions will become even more
important. In addition to regulatory requirements, transit authorities
will have to address rider insecurities in order to regain confidence
in public transportation moving forward. One way to do this is to
reduce the use of high frequency touch points on buses by removing
interactions between passengers and operators.
To that end, many agencies have adopted short-term policies
that prevent passengers from entering the vehicle through the
front door, while also blocking off the front section of the bus.
While this minimizes contact between drivers and passengers,
these policies prevent ADA passengers from sitting in the front of
the bus, where most ADA areas are located. And, while this system
may work during temporary free-ride plans, in the long-term,
passengers will need to swipe their fare cards or use the fare box
near the drivers’ compartment.
To make these interactions safer, Fleet Maintenance Specialists
(FMS), in partnership with Urban Solar, designed and have in
production an Operators Personal Protection Guard (OPPG), called
DryVGard ™ . Designed to be easy to install and simple to adjust, the
DryVGard ™ shield (Patent Pending) is strong, durable, and flexible
enough to retrofit any vehicle that incorporates a vertical rear driver’s
modesty panel.
back on track. Designed and built to meet those needs, DryVGard can
help these agencies answer a fundamental challenge as transit riders
and operators adjust to a new normal.
For more information about DryVGard ™ contact FMS at 951-471-8488 or
info@fleetms.org.
16 | BUSRIDE.COM | JULY 2020