New School Bus Sanitization Program Unveiled In Southampton

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — With an eye toward keeping students and staff safe during the coronavirus pandemic, the Southampton Union Free School District has kicked off a pilot program to sanitize school buses.

The disinfecting systems mechanically sanitize buses between routes. Approved by the New York State Department of Transportation, the systems are currently installed on two of the district’s 47 buses, the district said.

A mist disinfectant that the district currently uses in its buildings is used to clean the buses; the driver uses the mist between and after routes and can only be administered when a bus is empty and the engine is off, the district said.

“The systems are extremely useful in maintaining the health and safety of our students and drivers,” said Samantha Saw, the district’s transportation director. “They are also time savers.”

Without the mechanical system, bus drivers spend hours each day hand-sanitizing each bus —but the mist system can sanitize a bus in less than one minute, the district said.

The goal is to have all 47 buses in the district's fleet retrofitted with one of the new systems by the end of the school year, the district said.

“This is just one way that the district is continuously seeking out new methods to keep our students and staff safe now and into the future,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Nicholas Dyno.