VT-Arriva, the Hungarian arm of DB-owned Arriva, has signed a deal with Resysten, a company which manufactures an antimicrobial coating to protect surfaces from the spread of coronavirus, to apply its product to a fleet of 450 buses. The manufacturer says that every coated surface on these buses will see a decrease of up to 99.9% in the presence of pathogens that allow the coronavirus to spread, with the protection remaining active for up to one year, significantly increasing safety for both passengers and staff.
Resysten says it has has seen a surge in new business in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and that its product has been proven to reduce the spread, which it said is backed up by public and private sector clients’ experience in its native Hungary over the last six years, with the product already present in Budapest’s International Airport, the city’s public transport network and the country’s own public health system. Resysten also counts Audi, T-Mobile and Metro stores amongst its early adopters, and says it has to-date treated a total 150,000 square metres of surfaces, including all 27km of escalator handrails in Budapest’s Metro network and over 700 of its vehicles.
Resysten was developed in response to the SARS epidemic of 2003 as a way to combat Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs). Upon contact with light, the sprayed solution produces hydrogen peroxide which prevents the presence of pathogens on any surface. It has been developed to integrate into any surface on a molecular level, meaning that it cannot be removed by conventional cleaning methods and so it remains active for up to a year.
Shajjad Rizvi MBE, Resysten’s CEO, says: “We are very proud to welcome VT-Arriva as our newest client. As one of the leading public transport companies in Europe, we understand the importance that they put into passenger and staff safety, and we’re grateful that they’ve put their trust in us to take that safety a step further with the application of Resysten to their fleet of buses. Our priority rests with helping affected industries in their fight against the novel coronavirus in both the public and private sectors; working with VT-Arriva is an exciting opportunity to continue moving in that direction.
“We have to of course reiterate that Resysten is an additional solution that significantly reduces the risk of the spread of coronavirus on surfaces, but it’s not a cure – and it will only work at its most effective if people continue to be vigilant and taking precautions such as wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and basic hygiene rules such as regularly washing your hands. We’re all in this fight together.”
Resysten says it aims to become a major ally in the world’s fight against coronavirus, by becoming another key tool in limiting its spread across the population and allowing public health systems, institutions and private businesses to operate as safely as possible during and after the pandemic, and to-date has established partnerships in 14 countries.
