Megabus says it’s suspended all of its services in and out of New York City through April 9.
The busing company says the suspension is a precautionary move in response to the recommendation that anyone traveling from New York City should self-quarantine for 14 days.
One of their buses was already in transit to State College and was expected to arrive in State College Thursday afternoon, authorities said.
Some people are concerned the suspension may be too late as the virus continues to spread in the state.
New York City has become a fast-growing epicenter of coronavirus with more than 21,000 known cases and 281 deaths as of Thursday, according to NBC News.
The company says Coach USA will continue to run its local commuter services on the current reduced schedules.
“These services provide a safe means of travel for those essential workers for whom it is vital that they are able to travel to their place of work, in particular healthcare and utility workers,” the company said.
Passengers who’ve already booked trips in or out of New York during this time will receive an email on how they can reschedule their trip, the company says.
Below is a list of proactive measures Coach USA and Megabus say they are taking to mitigate the spread of COVID-19:
- We have reduced the available number of seats on our double-deck vehicles to give our drivers and customers more personal space. This complies with the CDC's guidance to avoid groups of more than 50 people.
- We have been and will continue to wash and wipe down all of our buses on a daily basis.
- We are providing individual hand sanitizers to all of our employees.
- Disinfectant wipes will be placed on all buses so that high traffic areas, hand rails and hard surfaces can be wiped down regularly.
- Disinfectant wipes will be made available in common work areas in every depot and office so that all door knobs, and hard surfaces can be wiped down regularly.
- While en route with passengers, all efforts will be made to allow as much fresh air as possible into the bus.
- We have updated our rescheduling policy to provide peace of mind to customers
We’ve reached out to Megabus for comment and are waiting to hear back.
For more information regarding coronavirus in Pennsylvania, visit the Department of Health’s website.
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