Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Local Team Says Tech Can Block COVID on Buses. Will Transit Agencies Use It?
gvw_nancy_price
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 3 years ago on
October 28, 2020

Share

University researchers in the Central Valley have identified technologies that they say will wipe out just about every speck of coronavirus passing through air-handling systems on buses.

But transit operators, while excited at the prospect of making bus travel safer for passengers and drivers, say it could take months or even a year before the technologies can be up and running.

By then, we might all be lining up for a coronavirus vaccine.

In the meantime, face masks, hand-washing, and social distancing are still the best way for passengers and drivers to keep themselves safe, the researchers told reporters Wednesday.

But even after the pandemic fades away, the technologies identified by Valley researchers can help scrub future flu and cold viruses from bus air-handling systems.

Several Technologies Effective

The study, which was led by the Fresno State Transportation Institute, first tested air flow in buses and then introduced actual viruses — the kind that harm bacteria, not humans — to see which technologies were most effective in wiping out viruses.

Aly Tawfik, associate professor of civil engineering in the Lyles College of Engineering and director of the Fresno State Transportation Institute, said the researchers want to spread the word throughout the transportation industry of what can be done to make buses safer.

Tawfik partnered with Deify Law, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Fresno State, and Juris Grasis, an assistant professor of molecular and cell biology at University of California, Merced, on the study.

Researchers collect samples for virus testing aboard a bus. (Fresno State Transportation Institute)

They identified several successful virus scrubbers, including photo-catalytic oxidation inserts, a type of air purifier that eliminated 99% of viruses from buses’ heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, and ultraviolet light, which removed almost 98%. Maintaining higher air pressure inside the bus removed 100% of viruses found on surfaces.

Copper foil tape and copper-infused fabric eliminated 99.7% of one virus but were inconclusive on two others.

Ready to Board The Bus

Tawfik and other researchers  on the Zoom call with reporters said they would feel safe riding in a bus where passengers are masked and the air scrubbed of viruses with the technologies they targeted.

But masks still will be needed as a barrier for virus particles that haven’t yet been swept through the HVAC system.

The researchers are hopeful that making buses safer will encourage passengers to return. Many bus systems nationwide are carrying a fraction of their former passenger load because of fears of contagion.

In the Fresno area, bus systems are operating with fewer passengers and more safety precautions, officials said.

Fresno Area Express set a self-imposed limit of 10 passengers per bus plus the driver back in March, said Gregory Barfield, director of transportation for the city of Fresno. Officials are taking a look at expanding ridership by four or five more passengers, he said.

FAX is seeking a federal grant so the technologies in the Fresno State study can get real-world testing, Barfield said. It could take as much as a year to get the results and install the technology.

In the meantime, FAX is taking steps to sanitize buses throughout the day and every night, and passengers are required to wear masks, he said.

Retrofitting Takes Time

Moses Stites, general manager of Fresno County Rural Transit Agency, said he’s hoping bus manufacturers can quickly analyze the tech solutions and send out retrofit equipment. The agency’s buses, which come in a variety of sizes and with various power systems, were used as labs in the Fresno State study.

Electric-powered buses, for example, are wired differently than other buses, “so you can’t just start drilling into them” to install new hardware, Stites said.

Ridership over the past eight months in the Fresno area was dampened by closures designed to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Fresno County Rural Transit caters to a lot of senior passengers who stayed home when their centers closed, and FAX lost student passengers when campuses closed, officials said.

DON'T MISS

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

DON'T MISS

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

DON'T MISS

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

DON'T MISS

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: How Going to Work for Trump Turned Devin Nunes Into a Millionaire

DON'T MISS

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP Pick in 2000, Dead at 82

DON'T MISS

Trump Criticizes Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order in Hush-Money Case

DON'T MISS

Corrupt Process? Bullard, Edison Parents Blast Handling of Superintendent Search

DON'T MISS

Police Had About 90 Seconds to Stop Traffic Before Baltimore Bridge Fell. 6 Workers Are Feared Dead

DON'T MISS

NBC Has Cut Ties With Former RNC Head Ronna McDaniel After Employee Objections, Some on the Air

No data was found
Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

Fallen Crypto Mogul Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

1 hour ago

When Newsom Gives His State of the State, He Should Be Candid About California’s Economy

1 hour ago

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

1 hour ago

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

2 hours ago

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

3 hours ago

Supermom Carmi Is Ready to Be Embraced by Her Forever Family

Animals /

6 hours ago

Ukrainian Navy Says a Third of Russian Warships in the Black Sea Have Been Destroyed or Disabled

14 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: How Going to Work for Trump Turned Devin Nunes Into a Millionaire

18 hours ago

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP Pick in 2000, Dead at 82

19 hours ago

Trump Criticizes Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order in Hush-Money Case

20 hours ago

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

TORONTO — Four of the largest school boards in the Canadian province of Ontario said Thursday they launched lawsuits against TikTok, Meta an...

7 mins ago

7 mins ago

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

13 mins ago

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

58 mins ago

Fresno County Tackles Animal Overpopulation with New Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Program

1 hour ago

Fallen Crypto Mogul Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

1 hour ago

When Newsom Gives His State of the State, He Should Be Candid About California’s Economy

Photo of Taylor Swift
1 hour ago

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

2 hours ago

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

3 hours ago

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend