Chauffeured transportation supplier EmpireCLS is introducing a new set of safety and sanitary protocols developed by working with International SOS.
Among the requirements for EmpireCLS and its affiliates are that chauffeurs must wear N95 masks—so named because they filter at least 95 percent of airborne particles—or the equivalent KN95 mask. The company has KN95 masks on order given the current short supply of N95 masks, chairman and CEO David Seelinger said. Passengers, too, will be asked to wear their own facial coverings, and vehicles will be stocked with individually wrapped masks for those who do not have their own.
Other protocols will include offering passengers small bottles of hand sanitizer upon the first point of contact, giving passengers the option to handle their own bags if they prefer and removing bottled water and reading materials from the passenger area, Seelinger said. Water will be available upon request, and passengers will be given the link prior to their ride to connect to the reading material digitally, he said. Touchpoints will be sanitized after each ride.
Vehicles, meanwhile, have been treated with electrostatic spraying, which lessens the chances of the virus sticking to their surface, and they are being outfitted with three-layer air filtration systems, according to Seelinger.
EmpireCLS worked with ISOS and its infectious disease consulting arm on the standards because the company wanted to focus not only on the best methods of limiting spread of Covid-19 but also to determine what wouldn't work, he said.
"I didn't want to just throw things out there; I wanted to do this in a very structured manner," Seelinger said. "Going through the ISOS process was quite an education for me in learning how airborne illnesses work."
For example, Seelinger determined during the process that partitions between drivers and passengers, which would detract from the luxury feel of a chauffeured ride, also would not be effective in preventing spread, he said. Additionally, they determined that while drivers should be equipped with thermometers so that they could regularly monitor their temperature, it would not be worthwhile to equip drivers with pulse oximeters to monitor blood oxygen levels given the likelihood of error in readings conducted by personnel without medical training, according to Seelinger.
National Limousine Association president Robert Alexander, who also is the president and CEO of RMA Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation, said providers across the industry are working on their own safety and sanitation protocols.
"Everybody needs to make sure we are doing everything in our power to provide a cocoon-like environment for passengers," Alexander said. "We're focusing on how to minimize any exposure at any point."
The NLA has discussed a certification program for that process, though it has not determined whether it would be feasible, he said.
Regardless, Alexander said being able to demonstrate such protocols will be a "new standard question" from corporate travel managers as demand begins to return.
"When you service the types of clients we do—like in private aviation or in entertainment—you can't expect us not to have this in place," Seelinger said.