CDC Victoria’s contribution to keeping its communities safe and mobile during the COVID pandemic has helped it become a finalist in the Victorian COVIDSafe Business Awards.
A partnership between the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) and the Victorian Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, the COVIDSafe Business Awards recognise businesses which have “demonstrated and encouraged excellent and best COVIDSafe practices for their customers and community”.
CDC Victoria was selected as a finalist due to its performance in a number of areas, including early establishment of COVID-safe practices, providing continuous reliable services for customers, effectively managing staffing issues and maintaining COVID-safe services.
CDC Victoria CEO Jeff Wilson said that continued focus on CDC Victoria’s commitment of ‘linking people, places and communities’, despite the challenges created by the pandemic, have helped it to achieve these results.
“From the earliest days of the pandemic, we implemented a number of processes across all our depots to promote COVID-safe practices – such as effective social distancing, cleaning and sanitisation, mask wearing and safer communication with customers – so that we could encourage continued and confident use of public transport,” Mr Wilson said.
“The pandemic served to highlight the dependence our customers have on our services, with so many essential workers and vulnerable members of the community relying on them during these trying times.
“This meant that the pressure was on us to perform safely and we did not drop a single bus service as a consequence of the challenges posed by COVID.
“Additionally, CDC Victoria was the first public transport operator to promote coronavirus vaccine amongst its staff by offering a financial reward to employees.
“This resulted in over 70 per cent of our staff opting to take the vaccine and this helped with our smooth transition to mandatory vaccination.
“Our staff have been incredible throughout the pandemic and are continuing with their dedication to being COVID-safe, I cannot thank them enough,” Mr Wilson said.
The winners of the Victorian COVIDSafe Business Awards will be announced early in 2022.
