Hand sanitiser should be provided on public transport – Buttimer

Public transport operators including Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and Irish Rail should all have hand sanitiser dispensers on board, a Fine Gael Cork Senator has said.

Senator Jerry Buttimer, Seanad Leas-Chathaoirleach and Spokesperson on Transport, said: “Hand sanitiser is just as important as face masks when it comes to public health measures on transport.

“Passengers naturally touch the hand railings and seats as they make their way onto the bus or train, and in many cases need to do so for their own safety. We know that the virus can survive on some surfaces for more than 24hrs and all it takes is one Covid-19 positive person to touch a railing. Dozens of people could touch that same spot and catch the virus.

“Public transport operators should ensure that hand sanitiser dispensers are provided on each public transport vehicle to mitigate the risk of spreading infection.”

Senator Buttimer continued: “We are currently asking people to avoid public transport where possible as we try to reduce the COVID-19 case numbers. However we have no idea how long this virus is going to be in our communities and at some stage we are going to see our public transport become busier as more people return to the office. We must plan for the future and we have a window of opportunity over the next few weeks with less people using public transport and staying at home as per the new Government guidelines.

“We should ensure that if we are advising people to go back to work and to use public transport again after the 13th of September, that we make it as safe as possible. Ensuring all public transport operators have hand sanitisers on board could play a big part in this.” concluded Senator Buttimer.