Safe Travels: Transportation tools to provide further protection for your attendees against COVID-19

October 21, 2021 // Educational Series

As anyone who’s been put in charge of coordinating a vacation with family or friends can attest, getting a group of people from point A to point B in a timely and orderly fashion can be a headache-inducing affair. Managing the intricacies of transportation for hundreds of event attendees requires a firm grasp on logistics and a robust network of high-quality providers, especially during an ongoing pandemic. metroConnections has extensive experience in providing transportation services for large-scale events all around North America, and our team has the expertise to make sure your attendees arrive at your event on-time, and return home safe and sound.;

metroConnections will begin the process of developing your event’s transportation plan by meeting with your team to establish key details such as your venue’s location and your company’s internal policies surrounding COVID-19. Using that information, our staff will develop a unique transportation plan that accounts for every step of your attendees’ journey–starting with their arrival at the airport.

“Some airports can be intimidating and difficult to navigate for attendees. Dallas-Fort Worth’s airport, for instance, has five different terminals,” says Renee Splittgerber, metroConnections’ Director of Transportation Services, “Thanks to years of experience, we know about all of these potential difficulties, and how to work around them.”

metroConnections will employ a mixture of private cars, busses, and shuttles to transport attendees, depending on your event’s needs. We’ve built up a deep stable of high-quality transportation vendors that have strict COVID-19 protocols in-place for vehicle cleanliness and driver conduct. We will ensure that your attendees’ health is treated with the utmost care and consideration.

“Drivers are required to wear a mask and gloves, take regular temperature checks, and sanitize their vehicles with an onboard sanitation kit after every trip,” explains Splittgerber, “In larger vehicles like busses, many of our vendors are using state-of-the-art sanitation and ventilation systems similar to what you see on airplanes these days.”

Splittgerber also says that many clients are also requesting to work exclusively with vaccinated drivers, which is a request that metroConnections is more than happy to accommodate whenever possible. This level of oversight and control over your attendees’ transportation experience is just one of many reasons why Splittgerber recommends working with professional transportation vendors, rather than ridesharing apps.

“Ridesharing can be very convenient, but your experience is often at the mercy of that individual driver,” says Splittgerber, “By working with our trusted partners, we can guarantee a safe, secure, and on-time ride that leaves nothing to chance.”

metroConnections strongly recommends locking-in your event’s transportation strategy as early as possible, due to ongoing driver and vehicle shortages caused by COVID-19. Both ridesharing apps and professional services are experiencing such shortages, and those shortages can cause surge pricing and long wait times for ridesharing customers.

“We can insulate your event from the effects of the driver shortage as long as we book your transportation well in advance,” says Splittgerber, “Reserving drivers and vehicles ahead of time is the best way to ensure that your attendees will be provided for, especially in smaller markets.” By working ahead and utilizing the services of reliable and COVID-conscious transportation vendors, metroConnections can make certain that all of your attendees arrive and depart your event in a safe, timely, and headache-free fashion.