It's increasingly important to stay alert while driving, especially with the increase in pedestrian traffic that comes with back-to-school season. Back to in-person schooling and returning to the office means more people on the roads. Don’t be distracted.

The health & safety of our employees, passengers and the communities we serve continues to be our top priority. With kids going back to school and many people returning back to the office, “Pedestrian Safety” is not only a timely theme for our September/October campaign – but a necessary one.

Another one of our July/August “Beat the Heat” related sub-themes highlights the importance of staying hydrated in the summer heat. Avoiding sugary beverages, minimizing caffeine, drinking water before/during/after exercise and increasing your water intake overall are just some tips to help you stay hydrated.

Health & Safety continues to be the top priority for our employees, passengers and the communities in which we operate. Every couple of months, we highlight another overall health & safety-related theme. One of our July/August "Beat the Heat" related sub-themes focuses on Staying Cool in the summer heat and being aware of the signs of potential heat-related illness.

We recently developed a short, PSA-like video for social media promoting the use of masks on public transportation and reinforcing the current federal mandate. This type of reminder is just another way we can help keep our teams, passengers and communities we serve healthy and safe.

The health & safety of our employees, passengers and the communities we serve continues to be our top priority. Our commitment to highlight different Health & Safety themes every couple of months continues. We are excited to introduce that our theme for July and August is “Beat the Heat”.

Our last post for Mental Health Awareness Month centers around some ideas for tools that you can use or suggest to others. Since the onset of Covid-19, many mental health and emotional wellness apps have gained in popularity. There are many such apps available, at no cost, from the app store.

Mental and emotional wellness are important parts of your overall health. Being good to your mind is just as important as being good to your body — and that means living a healthy lifestyle, paying attention to how you feel, and doing simple things to take care of the whole you.

Our inaugural installation took place at our Arizona Valley Metro paratransit operation in April. John Guignion, corporate safety manager, was on-site to deliver the training and oversee the installation. We look forward to offering our operators across the country this well-tested tool to help keep them even safer on the roads.

Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in May in the U.S. since 1949. This year’s theme is “You Are Not Alone”. It’s a good time to raise awareness of mental or behavioral health issues, to help reduce the stigma and to check in on those you feel may be struggling, especially during this Covid-19 pandemic.