Understanding that public transport workers such as city bus drivers are among the most susceptible to COVID-19, Mercedes-Benz is now offering a safety partition that can be retrofitted to its existing Citaro city bus.

From putting in improvised separating panes, Mercedes-Benz’s solution is much more durable and offers drivers better protection with its full-surface separating pane. Currently, a safety glass version is available and it measures 1,400 mm high and 780 mm wide. It covers the space between the passengers and the driver’s cab. It’s available both in a closed version and with small openings for ticket sales.

While the safety glass option is certainly more expensive, thanks to the Citaro’s modular fitment system, the German automaker is also developing a retrofit solution using a polycarbonate separating pane. This will be made available for earlier versions of their bus model too. Promising tests and preparations are currently taking place.

No timeline has been given, but Mercedes-Benz says they’ll soon make this separation pane available to transport companies to protect their bus drivers from possible COVID-19 infection.