2nd bus driver on Las Vegas Strip route tests positive for COVID-19

A second Regional Transportation Commission bus driver whose route includes the Las Vegas Strip has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Keolis, one of two contractors who provide drivers for RTC buses, was notified Tuesday of the positive test of the driver from the Deuce on the Strip route, according to Marc Perla, Keolis general manager of Las Vegas operations.

“Between April 2, the last time the driver was on route, and April 14, the only interaction the driver had with other Keolis employees was on April 5, alerting a single dispatcher of a notice to self-quarantine,” Perla said in an email. “The driver has not had any interaction with the riding public since their last shift, which ended on April 2 at 11 a.m.”

Keolis reported the first driver from the Las Vegas Boulevard route who tested positive Monday. That driver last worked March 31.

No contact between the two coronavirus-positive drivers can be confirmed, Perla said. The Strip route has seen a 98 percent decline in revenue, according to the RTC, which has reduced its service by 75 percent in response to the pandemic.

This marks the fourth employee of RTC contractors to test positive: three with Keolis and one with MV Transportation.

Keolis already implemented various policies and procedures to limit the spread of the virus and continue to provide essential transit services to the Las Vegas Valley.

Under the RTC’s policies, Keolis began rear-door boarding April 4, limiting the interactions between riders and drivers.

Keolis also provided expanded personal protective equipment, including additional masks, gloves and other gear.

Keolis is working with its international partners to obtain additional supplies, which will be delivered to the U.S. on or around April 18 to be distributed nationwide.

Any vehicle that has been operated by a driver who self-quarantines because of symptoms or tests positive for the virus is taken out of service and put into quarantine for three days.

“At the end of the third day, the vehicle is thoroughly disinfected before it is put back in service,” Perla said. “This procedure is also in place should a passenger report symptoms or exhibit them on the vehicle.”

Offices continue to be cleaned daily and nightly, and the dispatch area was immediately scrubbed the day the driver who tested positive entered April 5. Buses are cleaned and disinfected nightly.

Keolis said it has not observed any heightened level of absenteeism in the past three weeks.

“The care, well-being and trust of our employees and the riding public has always been of paramount importance to Keolis,” Perla said. “This practice continues at an ever more heightened level during this unprecedented crisis.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.