Bloomington issues COVID-19 update for buses, utilities customer service
Late Friday, the city of Bloomington issued press releases about the way that public bus service and utilities customer service will be altered starting next week, to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most Bloomington Transit buses will continue to run next week on their normal schedule. But the suspension of Indiana University classes means that BT will offer no service on Routes 7, 6-Limited and 9-Limited through March 29.
Routes 6 and 9 will continue operating on the university’s semester break schedules through March 29. BT Access, the agency’s para-transit service, will operate normally.
For water and sewer customers, the city of Bloomington utilities (CBU) customer service office on Miller Drive will be closed to walk-in service. According to the release, customers can still call (812) 349-3930 or send an email message to utilities.cs@bloomington.in.gov Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. The after-hours number is (812) 339-1444.
Bloomington Transit
According to Friday’s news release, BT will reevaluate service plans at the end of next week and will make an announcement about its plans for service after March 29.
According to the release, transit ridership over the past week, spring break for Indiana University, is down about 33 percent compared to the week of the university’s spring break last year.
As reported earlier, BT’s board meeting, scheduled for March 17 was cancelled.
The cancellation of BT’s March board meeting means that a final decision on new route configurations won’t take place until the the next regular monthly board meeting, currently scheduled for April 21, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. at the Bloomington Transit Grimes Lane facility located at 130 W. Grimes Lane in Bloomington. The decision had been expected at the now-cancelled March 17 board meeting.
According to BT general manager Lew May, an April 21 board decision on new route configurations would still leave sufficient time to implement the new routes in August of this year.
BT’s earlier press release and Friday’s release also indicated additional cleaning procedures, due to the COVID-19 virus. All buses, including BT Access, the para-transit service, will be disinfected nightly with special equipment, according to both recent news releases.
City of Bloomington Utilities
Friday’s press release from CBU confirms the statement in the city’s press release on Tuesday, saying that water shut offs have been suspended.
The press release asks that customers who have having financial problems reach out to CBU. The department has several tools that can help customers, like payment plans and
direct financial help, according to Friday’s release. The CBU customer Service phone number is (812) 349-3930. The email address is utilities.cs@bloomington.in.gov
