Downtown Connection Bus Has New Look And New Operator

The Downtown Connection will be deploying buses with a different look and new operator starting October 1.

Still sporting its distinctive red wrapping, the free connector bus service operated by the Alliance for Downtown New York has changed operators, and the vehicles put in service will have a new interior configuration and air filtration system to better enable the mitigation of communicable airborne disease.

Through a recent RFP process, the Alliance selected US Coachways to be its new contractor.

As opposed to the previous fleet, which largely sat passengers face-to-face with a center aisle, seats in the new vehicles are configured in forward-facing rows, thereby allowing for the installation of plastic shields between rows for socially-distant seating. 

Additionally, the new fleet will feature a state-of-the-art UV-C air filtration system. UV light disinfection is now widely used in hospitals and laboratories to sanitize instruments and work surfaces and to prevent the spread of potentially lethal airborne infectious diseases. In scientific studies, UV light has been proven to kill 90% of microbial contaminants after 10 minutes of exposure and 99% after 1 hour. 

The Alliance will maintain a rigorous daily cleaning and disinfection routine as well.

“With the changes to our fleet, we are not only committing ourselves to continuing a high standard of service but to also do what we can to protect the health of our ridership,” said Downtown Alliance President Jessica Lappin. 

The Battery Park City Authority, which contributed $632,000 to the bus system this past year, applauded the changes.  “I commend Jessica and her team on new safety precautions they’ve instituted to keep this service safe and accessible for our neighborhood passengers,” said the Authority’s President & CEO B.J. Jones. 

For more information, please call the Alliance for Downtown New York at 212-566-6700 or email us at [email protected].