Lucy Cuevas and Vicente Barrera waited at the terminal of El Paso-Los Angeles Limousines Express to take a bus back to their home in Colorado. They both wore face masks and sat across each other, surrounded by chairs with “Do not sit” signs.

The couple went to Central Mexico to see Barrera’s doctor in Irapuato, Guanajuato, — where they are initially from — since clinics in Colorado are only taking COVID-19 cases, Cuevas said.

Like Barrera and Cuevas, many still need to travel in the middle of a global pandemic and bus companies have had to restructure travel procedures to keep drivers and passengers safe. 

“We don’t have $10,000 to get treated here and since I don’t have insurance it’s easier to go over there,” Barrera said.

For the couple in their 50s, the need to see a doctor in Mexico outweighs the risk of getting infected with COVID-19.

“We know there’s a risk but we try to protect ourselves and follow the rules,” Barrera said, who chose to not disclose his medical condition.

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Adan Servin came to El Paso to visit family, he hasn’t seen his brother since November of last year. He sat at the terminal Monday evening, waiting to take a bus back to Los Angeles.

Servin said he is not worried about traveling, he is a truck driver and is always on the road.

“I travel all the time and I try to stay as safe as I can,” Servin said. “I wash my hands, wear a face mask and avoid touching any surfaces.”

He carries a hand sanitizer bottle in his bag and is used to avoiding contact with surfaces like door handles and gas pumps by wearing gloves, he said.  

“I think you have the same risks over here and in Los Angeles,” the 46-year-old truck driver said.

With a total of 155,887 COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County, the city is “on the brink” of a second stay-at-home order, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Sunday.

Public health officials have reported 12,971 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 221 deaths in El Paso County as of Saturday.

Companies struggle with low ridership and adjust to COVID regulations

Border closures following COVID-19 have severely affected bus companies that move passengers from El Paso to states like Colorado, Nevada and California.

“A big amount of our passengers are Mexicans who want to travel to see their family. With the border closures, everyone stopped traveling and, in that moment, that’s when we mainly got impacted,” Juan Carlos Corrales, vice president of Los Angeles-El Paso Limousine Express, said. 

The local bus company used to offer seven daily trips to locations in Mexico. With their ridership reduced by 70 percent since mid-March, they’re only offering one daily trip to Mexico.

The daily routine of a driver at the local bus company, Los Angeles- El Paso Limousines Express, consists of getting their temperature checked. This is followed by a deep clean of the driver’s cab of the bus that was previously disinfected by cleaning staff.

The front four seats of the bus are reserved to limit contact with passengers. Drivers and passengers must wear masks inside the bus, Corrales said..

“When the COVID pandemic started, we never suspended our operations,” he said. “But depending on the amount of passengers, we decided if we were doing the bus run or not.”

With less demand, the company has diminished the number of daily trips. While their Los Angles-Las Vegas route had to cease completely, they were able to keep the Los Angeles-Denver bus run, Corrales said.

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With most of their clientele unable to travel, Limousine Express’s current passengers are people with temporary work visas traveling to Colorado to work as farm workers.

For Los Paisanos Autobuses, another interstate company in El Paso, the ridership has been reduced by 80%, vice president Uriel Chavira said.

The company has reduced its passenger capacity to 50%. For their buses, it means only 20 to 25 people but even then the buses don’t fill up to limit.

“Right now we don’t have a lot of ridership. People just don’t want to travel,” Chavira said.

Like Los Angeles-El Paso Limousines Express, most of the passengers of Los Paisanos come from Mexico with people vacationing or visiting family in the United States. 

Los Paisanos has canceled all of their travel to Mexico but the company has kept its routes to Dallas, California, Colorado, Nevada and California. The company has been severely affected by the pandemic, Chavira said, and the company has gone through employee cuts. 

Now with new regulations, passengers must keep all luggage on the down compartment of the bus with the exception of handbags and backpacks.

Greyhound Lines is now requiring passengers to wear face coverings on buses and terminals and has implemented security measures that they now consider the “new normal of bus transportation,” communication specialist Crystal Brooke said.

The company has installed driver shields, frequent sanitation areas, no-contact boarding, social distancing protocols and introduced ozonation to disinfect and sanitize the buses.

“While the coronavirus has had a significant financial impact on all transportation providers, we are continuing to work diligently to not only continue service — especially in areas with little or no access to intercity transportation — but to also protect our customers and team members,” Brooke said.

Traveling soon? This is what you need to know:

• Most companies require face coverings on the bus, but regulations vary at terminals depending on the state you are visiting.
• If you’re traveling with multiple bags check ahead of time for restrictions on carry-on baggage. Some companies are restricting the number of personal items allowed on the bus and require baggage and bags to be placed in the compartment under the bus.
• Plan ahead as companies have decreased the number of daily trips. 

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