With cold and flu season upon us, you will be glad to know of the regular efforts made to keep Razorback Transit buses clean and sanitary. Buses are cleaned each night when they come in (final routes are completed at 10:30 p.m.) and sanitation efforts are a part of this.

Transit and Parking Associate Director Adam Waddell, who directs Razorback Transit, said this is a longstanding practice.

"We've always made sure that the sanitary cleanings are done," he said, "so that it can protect our passengers as well as the drivers."

In addition to that, for more than 10 years Razorback Transit has made hand sanitizer dispensers for riders, and they're available near the front entrance of each bus.

Some of the drivers for Razorback Transit also give the buses an additional sanitizing as needed to help eliminate the spreading of germs. One of those drivers is Trevor Keyser, a junior biology major at the University of Arkansas. He started working at Razorback Transit during his freshman year, and he enjoys driving buses as he works his way through college.

Keyser, who plans to go to medical school, said it is important to make sure the buses stay clean and germ-free as much as possible.

"With all the sickness going on we try to do it more often," he said. "We do it just to help keep people healthy. We try to help every student out and every driver out."

In previous weeks, some of the drivers sprayed surfaces with a disinfectant and wiped them down, but they switched to using sanitary wipes provided by Razorback Transit. Special attention is given to seats and to handrails.

Everyone understands that extra sanitizing does not guarantee that all buses get to run their routes completely germ-free, but extra attention to this matter certainly helps.