BSOOB Transit partners with state chamber for public awareness campaign

BSOOB Transit partners with state chamber for public awareness campaign
Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit Director of External Affairs Craig Pendleton and Dana Connors, president and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce apply a sticker to the floor of a bus on Friday. LIZ GOTTHELF/Saco Bay News
Liz Gotthelf, Publisher

SACO — Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit has partnered with the Maine Chamber of Commerce and Industry to spread the word about health and safety guidelines to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

The State Chamber has launched a campaign a public awareness campaign called “This is ME Counting on You.”

 

 “We hope ‘This is ME Counting on You’ serves as a reminder that every one of us also has an important role to play in defeating COVID-19. We are all in this together and are counting on each other to act safely and responsibly. That is the best way we can support one another, our communities, and Maine businesses so we reopen successfully, and economic recovery can begin,” said Dana Connors, president and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce.

 

Connors stopped by the Saco Transportation Center on Friday and he and Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit Director of External Affairs Craig Pendleton outfitted buses with stickers advertising the campaign to serve as a reminder for bus patrons to follow safety precautions.

“We’ve been trying to get the word out on how we’re doing an extra effort to make sure that our customers and our drivers are safe. I came across this program that the State Chamber is doing and I thought it was unique and it helps us tell our story,” said Pendleton.

The buses get disinfected every morning with an atomizer spray gun, he said, and the transit agency has full-time cleaning staff that clean the buses at night. Shields have been installed in buses to protect drivers and buses are carrying at maximum 50 percent capacity to increase physical distancing, said Pendleton.

“We’re doing everything we can and we really want people to be able to feel comfortable coming on our buses, and this helps us get our message across,” said Pendleton.

The State Chamber also has launched a website, www.MeCountingOnYou.org, with resources and links to recommended health and safety guidance and protocols.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at [email protected].