MAN Truck & Bus is now offering a specially developed hygienic protective barrier that can be retrofitted on board its city buses, intercity buses and coaches.
This solution is set to play a significant role in ensuring that drivers can carry out their work as safely as possible, both now and in the future.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic bus drivers have ensured that the public can continue travelling and get safely from A to B.
“The safety of drivers is a priority close to our hearts,” said explains Heinz Kiess, head of product marketing bus at MAN Truck & Bus.
“Ultimately, they’re the ones who are out there day after day to keep the transport system running.
“The ceiling-high screen keeps the driver’s cab separate from the passenger area, protecting both drivers and passengers.”
Precautions will need to be taken to protect bus company employees, especially once the current spacing and sanitation rules are gradually relaxed. “Front-door boarding is still prohibited and the front rows are still off-limits on many buses,” Kiess added.
“As soon as these are reopened to passengers, the driver will automatically be re-exposed to much more contact with new people, whether to answer their questions or sell tickets.”
MAN Truck & Bus worked closely together with bus companies in a variety of countries when discussing and implementing its ideas and solutions for protecting drivers.
The aim was to ensure that these satisfied the needs and preferences of operators as effectively as possible.
“Naturally, the specially developed hygienic protective barriers also meet all the legal requirements and never impair the driver’s vision,” said Kiess.
For the new MAN Lion’s City generation, the protective screen for the driver’s workplace, can either be installed as a factory-fit or retrofitted as part of MAN’s After Sales service. Customers can choose between a fully sealed version and a version with an access point for ticketing.
“We’ve seen growing demand for these in the city bus market,” Kiess said.
“But we’ve also received enquiries for all other vehicles operated by our customers, such as intercity buses. We can install these quickly at the MAN Bus Modification Center in Plauen, Germany.”
The firm also perform custom retrofits for models from the existing Lion’s City generation. In addition, they can convert the barrier behind the driver’s workplace into a partition on board MAN Lion’s Coach and NEOPLAN Tourliner coach models.
“The MAN Bus Modification Center, which specialises in bespoke, practical solutions, has a particularly important role to play – especially now in the midst of this crisis,” Kiess said.
