Miami-Dade bus driver dies of COVID as virus leaves county understaffed, riders stuck

A county bus operator last on the job in late June has died after a COVID-19 diagnosis, Miami-Dade’s transit agency confirmed Thursday as it reported growing transportation problems from the latest spike in coronavirus infections in Florida’s hardest-hit region.

The unnamed operator tested positive for COVID-19 at some point in June, and was last at work June 25, according to statements from the county’s Department of Transportation and Public Works. It did not provide a precise date of the positive test or the date of death. In confirming the death after an inquiry from the Miami Herald, the agency initially said the driver had been home on leave since March. It later said that timeline was an error based on a misreading of the employee’s records. The county did not release details of the driver’s past route.

The death follows months of the county’s transit union complaining of its members not receiving adequate protection throughout the COVID crisis, with drivers issued single Clorox wipes per shift in March. Now the union is pushing for widespread testing of transit employees to track the spread of a virus among mechanics, operators and others that have kept bus and Metrorail system running during the pandemic.

“Right now we are seeing more drivers call in sick,” director Alice Bravo told commissioners Thursday. “We’re starting to see a shortage of operators.”

Bravo said only 44 bus operators out of 2,000 or so were officially confirmed to have COVID, but that many more have called in sick without identifying their illness.

The primary challenge for transit remains the social-distancing measures imposed in March to separate passengers from each other and operators. The county suspended fares to reduce contact with shared surfaces and allow bus riders to board from the back, away from drivers. Half of the seats in each bus were declared off limits, and passengers are told not to stand in the aisles.

Ridership has been riding steadily since Miami-Dade lifted most business closure orders in May and June, from an 80 percent drop in ridership to about half of prior levels now, Bravo said. That’s left buses to full to pick up passengers. More than 360 riders were either passed by or denied entry to buses on Wednesday, she said.

The transit agency is pointing to COVID as a reason to expand outsourcing, winning emergency approval Thursday to use private bus companies for service on six routes. With more vehicles, Miami-Dade says it can improve service while maintaining the social-distancing rules. “We’re doing everything we can,” said Deputy Mayor Jennifer Moon, who oversees transit.

The private buses typically can’t provide sidewalk-level boarding or other amenities provided by county buses, making them an unpopular option for riders but a cheaper one for the county.

Moon said Thursday that the county was implementing widespread testing for transit employees, four months in the county’s declared state of emergency over COVID.

The Transportation Workers Union has accused the administration of Mayor Carlos Gimenez of not prioritizing safety of its majority-black membership, while providing ample testing and protective gear for first-responders in the police and fire departments. Miami-Dade commissioners have already endorsed negotiating hazard pay for police, fire and corrections employees during COVID, but on Thursday delayed consideration of a similar benefit for transit workers.

In a statement on the bus operator’s death, the Transportation Department said that one of “our very own front-line workers” had died. “We are devastated by this passing,” the agency said.

The union later put out a response that accused the county of still failing to protect transit workers from COVID.

“Currently, we have dozens of transportation workers who have tested positive for the virus and likely more that have not yet been identified,” union president Jeffery MItchell said. “As we become the global epicenter of the pandemic, the county continues to fall behind on properly addressing the issue of testing and contact tracing. We need real leadership because condolences, thoughts, and prayers are not going to cut it.”