The decision: No plexiglass on UL's buses

The purpose of installing plexiglass around the cab is for travelers to step through the front doors.

As it seems now, when the front doors are kept closed, many step in without paying. This - along with fewer local traffic in the corona crisis - costs UL between one and a half million SEK each day.

The solution with plexiglass was met by criticism from the union, who did not think the glass adequately protected the drivers. You are now welcomed by the Swedish Work Environment Authority's ban on using buses with this type of solution.

- We think it is a good decision that favors drivers' safety and the working environment. In order to get it completely tight and to protect the drivers from exposure to the virus, you basically have to build a cage. It is also not very traffic-safe to shut down the driver in that way. What happens in the event of a traffic accident ?, says Charlotta Hörner, chief safety officer at Kommunal.

At UL you can now look at other solutions.

- We have worked together with Gamla Uppsala bus and thought of this with plexiglass as a solution. Keeping the front door closed is not a long-term solution, says UL press spokesman Nikodemus Kyhlén and continues:

- The important thing now is to drive as much as possible and to protect the drivers from getting sick, then what measures will be in the future we will see. But in the long term we need to find another solution, with a better flow in the bus so that people pay.