Timely insights on whole room disinfection.
TransportationMay 19, 2021
School Bus Disinfection: Mitigating Germs and Viruses on Board with the Right Solution
Every day in the U.S., more than 480,000 buses transport approximately 26 million students to and from schools. With the large number of trips and passengers, buses can easily become vectors of virus and illness spread. The nature of a school bus’s layout makes it difficult for students to remain physically distant from one another—and makes it easy to touch the same surfaces—increasing the chance of sickness passing between riders.
This is why it’s crucial to have an effective school bus disinfection plan in place to kill germs that cause illnesses like the flu, norovirus, and COVID-19. Let’s explore what school bus operators and administrators can do to ensure their students and staff are riding on properly disinfected vehicles.
The Difficulties of Disinfecting School Buses
With so many buses in service each day, bus cleaning teams are often strapped for time and may not be able to disinfect buses as frequently or as thoroughly as they would like. For instance, a typical school bus has 13 rows on each side, and a federal standard seat size of 39 inches. Assuming it takes 1 minute to wipe down all sides of a seat, the seatbelt, and the window, it would take 26 minutes per bus just to disinfect the seating area.
The time intensity required for cleaning often leads to buses that are disinfected infrequently. When disinfection does take place, often only high touch surfaces are prioritized. However, with children riding in such close quarters, it’s critical that disinfectants reach all the cracks and crevices that children may touch and where germs can lurk.
Determining the Most Effective Method for Bus Disinfection
Bus operators must identify a disinfection strategy that both offers the highest levels of efficacy and requires minimal labor. Spray and wipe systems are the most labor-intensive as each surface must be manually wiped. In addition, they are susceptible to human error and rarely reach germs in all the nooks and crannies where they hide under seats and between cushions.
Dry fog is the ideal disinfection delivery method for buses as it is the only solution that can reach germs in all of the cracks and crevices present throughout a vehicle. With a specialized dry fog system for buses, operators can run disinfection systems entirely in touchless mode. This minimizes the need for operators to actively disinfect buses and allows them to set up multiple systems to run simultaneously across the fleet.
Choosing the Right Solution to Disinfect Buses Properly
At Halosil, we recognize the unique challenge that bus disinfection presents. Our HaloFogger® POD leverages our proven whole room disinfection fogging technique in a lightweight and compact solution built specifically for buses and trains. Before each cycle, the HaloFogger® POD is simply removed from its recharging station and slotted into a receptacle permanently mounted to the outside of a bus. Once activated, the bus is disinfected within minutes—all without an operator having to go inside the vehicle. This allows a single operator to disinfect a fleet of buses much faster and more thoroughly than ever before.
Paired with our odor-free and bleach-free HaloMist™ disinfectant, the HaloFogger® POD is the ideal solution for bus disinfection. Contact us to learn more about setting up a disinfection plan for your transportation vehicles.