(MARCH 22, 2020) -- Effective Monday, March 23, GoDurham will suspend all fare collections and ask all riders who are able to enter through the rear doors of buses in an effort to support social distancing and reduce contact with frequently touched surfaces such as fare boxes. GoDurham ACCESS rides also will be free.
Exceptions will be made for riders who need to use the door nearest the bus operator for wheelchairs, strollers for infants or other mobility devices. Also, riders will not be allowed to stand on or near the standee line on the bus floor near the driver.
These actions follow GoDurham’s announcement Friday that, also effective Monday, it will suspend service after 9:30 p.m. as the agency strives to lessen risks posed by the coronavirus, or COVID-19, in accordance with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Public Safety, the governor’s office and local health departments.
“GoDurham operators and all of our frontline colleagues face the same pressures as everyone else right now,” said Durham Transportation Director Sean Egan. “They have families, kids out of school, loved ones with health concerns, and others may know someone already impacted by COVID-19. Despite these pressures, and despite understandable concerns, our workforce is showing up out of a sense of duty to the community.”
The system is requesting that the public travel on GoDurham only when it is essential in order to reserve space for health care professionals, including first-responders, doctors, nurses and home-care professionals, and other workers whose jobs are essential to the operation of the facilities working to keep the public safe.
GoDurham intends to provide service for essential trips in our community – for as long as it is safe and appropriate to do so, Egan said.