UTRGV Parking and Transportation Services tweeted earlier today that the Vaquero Express will be suspended Monday, after the university asked all students, faculty and staff to stay home.
The action follows an order by the City of Edinburg requiring its residents to wear protective facial coverings over their mouth and nose starting at 5 a.m. Monday in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“Based on this current information, UTRGV is asking all students, faculty and staff (from throughout the Rio Grande Valley) to stay home Monday as the university works to develop proper guidelines,” according to an email sent to the university community at 5:29 p.m. today by University Marketing and Communications.
The email states campuses will still operate on Monday and all classes will be offered as scheduled.
“However, most on-campus services will have to be provided by phone or online,” the email states. “Our police departments and medical facilities will remain open.”
The Vaquero Express was operating with a reduced schedule until today.
While a small portion of the campus community still reports to the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses, the Vaquero Express continued to be a resource.
“Even with ridership still down, we still have people requiring the service,” Transportation Manager Ian Chavez said in an interview with The Rider today before the department posted the tweet. “They rely on us to get them there safely.”
Shuttles are being sanitized before and after every departure and separating passengers to reduce risk.
To avoid riders being close to one another, the department placed barriers in between in case someone does not comply and the risk of others getting sick is avoided.
To reduce contact between the driver and passengers, the front entrance of the bus was closed off so all commuters entered and exited through the back of the bus.
During the week of March 16-20, there were 72 passengers, and the following week, March 23-27, there were 30.
In its tweet, Parking and Transportation Services said it would tweet out if services would be suspended after Monday.
For more information, visit https://www.utrgv.edu/parking-and-transportation-services/transportation-services/index.htm.
