Bus drivers in Detroit, as essential workers, face COVID-19 safety concerns
After Detroit bus drivers staged a “sick-out,” passengers began getting free rides so that drivers wouldn’t have to handle fares.
Buses provide vital transportation for many residents of Detroit who don’t have cars or other options for getting to grocery stores or other essential locations. With the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, many of Detroit’s bus drivers held a one-day strike, feeling that the city was not doing enough to protect them from the disease.
Transportation officials increased cleaning, provided masks for passengers and made the buses free to reduce interactions between bus drivers and passengers over fares. But with the death of a bus driver, the virus looms large over the fleet.
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