BC Transit has installed 696 full driver doors in buses across 34 transit systems to help protect the health and safety of drivers.
Over the past six months, 633 medium-duty, heavy-duty and high-capacity buses have been retrofitted with full driver doors. The installations were accelerated this year in response to COVID-19, and the retrofits were completed seven months ahead of schedule. New buses in the fleet will arrive with the full driver door pre-installed. Since the fall of 2019, 63 replacement and expansion buses have joined the BC Transit fleet with the full driver door factory installed.
The full driver door is an engineered door situated to the right of the driver’s seat near the fare box and is designed to increase protection for drivers. It includes a transparent piece of laminated tempered glass with anti-glare coating and a metal base. The full driver door window can be adjusted to account for sight lines associated with different seat positions.
BC Transit says it would like to thank the installation teams at Kodiak Mobile Video Installations, the Regional District of Nanaimo and Victoria Regional Transit System for completing the retrofits across the British Columbia Province. BC Transit says it would also like to thank AROW Global Corporation for producing the full driver doors and accommodating the accelerated schedule.
The $5.2 million retrofit cost is shared between the Province of B.C. and local government partners.
The light duty buses in the BC Transit fleet have a vinyl panel installed for the protection of the driver in response to COVID-19. Drivers working alone behind a barrier such as a full driver door or vinyl panel are exempt from wearing a face covering as indicated by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
