16 days ago
A school bus will always be a generally "germy" place, especially this time of year. So sick kids are advised to stay home. But some ill children will make it onto the buses.
So last week, First Student assured us that the bus company is taking extra precautions.
"All the bus drivers have sanitizer that they use," said Donna Alosa, First Student regional operations manager. "We recommend that after the children are off the bus that they wipe down the railing."
But a First Student driver, who contacted 2 On Your Side, said that is not true, at least not on her bus. "The hand wipes that that girl had on TV, I've never seen," the driver, who did not want to be identified, said. "We were never offered them." First Student admits that the wipes shown on television are not available. Instead, drivers are offered hand sanitizer bottles and paper towels. But the driver said she's never been given any of those items, and she's never been asked to wipe the hand rails. "I don't think it's fair to mislead parents that instead of giving their child a ride that they should put them on these buses that are really filthy," the driver said. 2 On Your Side asked First Student if the buses are being disinfected. "There are some that will take it upon themselves to spray their bus and actually use disinfectant," Alosa said. "And they are certainly welcome to do that. we'll do that upon request." 2 On Your Side's Michael Wooten asked the driver what happened when she requested her bus be disinfected. "Oh no, that's just not going to happen," the driver said. "What were you told," Wooten asked. The driver responded, "If i wanted gloves, go to the dollar store. If i wanted disinfectant, go to the dollar store." Donna Alosa said school districts can request a bus be disinfected, but drivers cannot. The CDC has said the H1N1 virus only lives for a few hours, so the company said disinfecting every bus is not realistic. When 2 On Your Side asked the driver when her bus was last disinfected, she said probably before it was delivered to the company, when it was new. Most agree that sanitizing the buses can make a big difference. So 2 On Your Side used swabs to collect samples from several spots of a school bus. We then used antibacterial wipes to clean those same areas, and then we re-swabbed. Buffalo State Microbiologist Dr. Gary Pettibone tested the samples. He said the sanitizer destroyed all the bacteria on two of the areas and reduced germs on the third. Put simply, the wipes worked. Dr. John Fudyma with ECMC said a few simple swipes on the bus hand rails can make all the difference. "To play it safe," Dr. Fudyma said, "probably the best approach would be to wipe down any surface that's potentially contaminated with a sick child." The driver wants the bus company to take it a step further by hiring cleaning crews to regularly disinfect. But First Student said, in general, cleaning is the driver's job. However, employees can take any concerns to their supervisors. And First Students insists that all drivers are now given plenty of sanitizer and paper towels. And because of 2 On Your Side's questions, Donna Alosa plans to send out a company-wide memo encouraging drivers to disinfect the hand rails several times a day. Ms. Alosa declined a on-camera interview to address the bus driver's complaints but answered all of our questions over the phone. She said First Student is taking all the steps necessary to make sure the buses are as clean and sanitary as possible.
