With the normalisation of New South Wales school timetables, CDC (Hillsbus/Blue Mountains Transit /Hunter Valley Buses /Forest Coach Lines) drivers and staff are continuing with a range of measures to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.

Continued additional bus cleaning. School buses are cleaned thoroughly after each morning and afternoon school run. 

Extra consideration for drivers’ health. All drivers are temperature-checked before shifts and are issued with a replenishable supply of hand sanitiser. Drivers also have a dedicated COVID-19 hotline to call if they present with symptoms.

Physical distancing. At CDC we are encouraging all passengers to continue practising physical distancing on our buses.

However, in line with advice from Transport for NSW and NSW Health, physical distancing between students is not required on buses. Additionally, no student will be left at a bus stop. On regular timetabled services school students will be given priority over paying passengers, even if this means physical distancing of 1.5 metres is not achievable.

CDC NSW will continue to work closely with Transport for NSW to ensure the safety of all passengers.

At ComfortDelGro Corporation (CDC) Australia, we care for our people and customers. Our priority is the safety of passengers and employees, especially those on the front-line.

As an operator in a regulated transport industry, we will continue to coordinate closely with government authorities and are taking action around COVID-19 in line with their recommendation and regulation.

For your peace of mind, we have also introduced a number of measures:

Protecting our people

• Restrictions on travel.
• Postponement of large-scale events.
• Remote working solutions including online technology for meetings and daily operations.
• Access to hand sanitisers.
• Training on social distancing, hygiene practices and other precautionary measures.
• CDC has established a national COVID-19 24x7 assistance hotline for all staff, whereby they can access medical advice around COVID-19.

Customers

• We are working in partnership with government to provide public transport services for as long as it is safe and logistically possible to do so.
• Our drivers have been educated to maintain good hygiene standards including practicing regular hand sanitising. 
• Our vehicles are being cleaned and sanitized more regularly with daily internal clean.
• Where practicable, implementing social distancing measures on board our buses.

We have not had any incident relating to COVID-19 and for that we are very thankful, but we wish to assure you that we have response plans ready.

We thank you for your continued support and look forward to linking people to places and communities even in these challenging times.

Yours sincerely,

Nicholas Yap

CEO, ComfortDelGro Australia

In the past 24 hours both the Federal and state Governments have upgraded precautions designed to address the spread of coronavirus. Such measures include the mandatory closure of clubs, pubs, restaurants, indoor sporting facilities and places of worship.

At this stage, public transport, as an essential service, remains unaffected.

In order to address the continuing risk of infection, CDC businesses across Australia will be adopting measures designed to identify and prevent people who may be running a high temperature (defined as 38 degrees or higher) and therefore potentially suffering from COVID-19 from attending any of our sites.

Temperature Taking of Contractors and Visitors

All guests, contractors and delivery people visiting any of our depots will be requested to attend the Operations office and present for temperature testing prior to being allowed on site.

Temperature Taking of Employees

In addition, all employees (drivers, mechanics, operations staff and head office personnel) will be required to have their temperature taken at the beginning of their shift to ensure that they do not present at work with a high temperature.

Employees required to take temperatures will be provided the appropriate training, guidelines and protective gear to enable them to do this safely.

We thank you for your patience and understanding in cooperating with these additional measures, which are important to protect your health and safety, as well as that of our employees.

In the coming weeks Hunter Valley Buses will be changing the name of the 140 - Newcastle service. The service will be renamed to 140 - Newcastle West.

Remember to visit transportnsw.info to plan your trip.