Bee-Line driver lost mom to coronavirus, makes sure others get to work saving lives – Lohud

Bee-Line #40 bus driver Leroy Clarke, who has been delivering dozens of workers to Westchester Medical Center throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, in Mount Vernon May 13, 2020. Rockland/Westchester Journal News

The 40 bus ferries healthcare workers to Westchester hospitals so they can help saves lives, says the bus driver who delivers them.

Leroy Clarkes 84-year-old mother died in early April from the coronavirus. He was on his way to her apartment in Brooklyn from his home in Cortlandt Manor when he found out shed taken her last breath.

The sad part is that Saturday when she passed away my sister asked me to come help, Clarke said. I was 20 minutes away from the house when she passed away. I was so mad I didnt get to talk to her.

His mothers death confirmed for Clarke the risks posed by the deadly virus that has claimed the lives of thousands of other New Yorkers like Louise Clark, a mother of seven.

People board the 5:40 a.m. Bee-Line bus Route 40 on East Prospect Avenue in Mount Vernon, April 8, 2020. (Photo: Mark Vergari/The Journal News)

And it reminded him how critical it is that he continue going to work every day, driving a bus to hospitals and nursing care facilities in Westchester County so others can save lives.

It doesnt bother me because I tell you something, its my job and I love it, Clarke said. It makes me proud that I can take these people to work, you know.

Clarke, 61, has been driving for Westchester Countys Bee-Line for 23 years. On a typical day, before the pandemic hit, he would be driving the 60 bus, from the Bronx up into White Plains.

Thatchanged in March.

DEATH: Jose Vitelio Gregorio, advocate for East Ramapo's Latino students, dies of coronavirus

TRAINS: No hugs or high fives for now, but Metro-North engineer still takes pride in getting 'heroes' to work

TEMPERATURE: MTA takes temperature of workforce to limit spread of virus

Ridership on the Bee-Line has plummeted from around 83,000 riders on a typical weekday to 22,000 last week, a decrease of 73%. Saturday service is down nearly 60%, from 38,000 to 16,000 and Sunday ridership dipped 63%from 23,000 to 8,500.

Fares have been waived and theres a partition separating drivers from passengers. Routes have been rejiggered so essential workers can get to and from work on buses that provide enough room for social distancing.

So, as dawn breaks, Clarke finds himself at Petrillo Plaza in Mount Vernon, driving the 40 bus that ferries health care workers north to Westchester Medical Center, White Plains Hospital and nursing homes along the way.

Passengers are pictured on the 5:40 a.m. Bee-Line bus Route 40 on East Prospect Avenue in Mount Vernon, April 8, 2020. (Photo: Mark Vergari/The Journal News)

They enter through the rear door of an articulated bus that can hold 100 but most mornings about 20 get on. They are mostly nurses aides, kitchen workers and housekeeping employees sporting the logos of the places where they work.

With fewer stops to make, Clarke stays ahead of schedule most mornings. At the White Plains Metro-North station he waits a little longer so passengers heading north by train from the Bronx can get on for the last leg of their trip north.

The county, working with its bus operator, Liberty Lines, decided to switch to an enhanced Saturday schedule on April 1. That means hourly service, which is traditionally focused on a busy midday.

Hospital workers and others had raised concerns about overcrowded buses.

So buses were added as needed to a dozen lines that course through the Bronx, White Plains, Yonkers, Harrison and New Rochelle, county officials said. Many of those additions came in the morning peak hours. At the request of Westchester County Medical Center, extra buses were added to routes serving the hospital.

We knew we would get into a situation where we would have some overcrowding because in general the weekday service focuses on morning and afternoon peaks, said Michael Swee, the principal planner for the countys Department of Public Works and Transportation. Saturday service is focused on a midday peak. So we knew we were going to have some issues. We tried to figure out which routes would need more trips before we switched to an enhanced Saturday service.

Workers went out and counted passengers and drivers offered their input.

People wait for the 5:40 a.m. Bee-Line bus Route 40 on East Prospect Avenue in Mount Vernon, April 8, 2020. (Photo: Mark Vergari/The Journal News)

Were getting calls from passengers saying for instance the 6 a.m. Route 7 from Mount Vernon to New Rochelle is overcrowded, Swee said. We get that input and we work with our operator to add trips or adjust schedulesIts a dance were doing on a daily basis, as most everyone is.

Across the country, transportation officials are facing similar challenges.

In Boston, transit officials have been using automatic passenger counters to identify routes that serve large numbers of health care workers.

In San Francisco, transit officials are using the counts to identify ridership trends, which tells them where and when to add service.

Theyve noticed, for instance, that demand peaks earlier in the day but is less pronounced than it had been before the pandemic, according to research by the TransitCenter, a New York City-based research and advocacy group. And ridership tails off after 5 p.m.

Critical to the effort is listening to drivers, said David Bragdon, the TransitCenters executive director.

The drivers know whats going on, Bragdon said. The drivers know where people are. And its really important because you want to reduce the crowdingFor a while even New York was running buses in some wealthier parts of town where nobody is working. So the buses there are empty and theyre running buses elsewhere that are really crowded.

Bragdon says the Bee-Line should adopt a similar approach once the pandemic passes and redesign routes to fit demand, especially in low-income areas where buses play a critical role in getting people to work.

Clarkes union head, Carlos Bernabel of Transport Workers Union Local 100, said his drivers have been communicating what they see to managers to alleviate crowded conditions that existed weeks ago.

At the beginning we were crowded, Bernabel said. But the people who are taking the bus now, most of them are workers, they understandIts been a challenge.

Clarke, meanwhile, is adjusting to life on his new route.

Bee-Line #40 bus driver Leroy Clarke, who has been delivering dozens of workers to Westchester Medical Center throughout the pandemic, arrives at his first stop in Mount Vernon May 13, 2020. Clarke, 61, has been driving for Bee-Line for 23 years. His mother recently died from COVID-19 but he continues to drive because he feels he owes it to his riders to get them to work every day. (Photo: Tania Savayan/The Journal News)

Im not scared of anything because I try to keep myself healthy, he said. I wear the protective gear.I feel confident. I dont have a problem with it.

He still checks in with passengers from his old route, including the White Plains woman who regularly brought him home-cooked Indian meals.

Bee-Line #40 bus driver Leroy Clarke, who has been delivering dozens of workers to Westchester Medical Center throughout the pandemic, at his first stop in Mount Vernon on May 13, 2020.(Photo: Tania Savayan/The Journal News)

My regular passengers, I miss them, he said.They call to see how I am doing. They always bring me good things to eat. My wife is not quite happy with it, but you know.

At home, he tries to keep a safe distance from his wife and two daughters to prevent infecting them.

I sleep in a different room because Im on the buses every day, he said.

A few weeks back, Bernabel said a local nonprofit came by the garage where Bee-Line drivers start their day and delivered pizza and drinks as a way to say thank you to Clarke, fellow bus drivers and mechanics.

There would be no fight against COVID-19 if our bus operators werent getting nurses and other hospital workers to the front lines, said Tony Utano, the president of Local 100. They really are heroes.

Read or Share this story: https://www.lohud.com/story/news/coronavirus/2020/05/14/bee-line-bus-driver-coronavirus/3107475001/

See the article here:
Bee-Line driver lost mom to coronavirus, makes sure others get to work saving lives - Lohud