SacRT will deny rail, bus service to riders refusing to wear masks starting next week
Sacramento Regional Transit plans to enforce California’s statewide mask order on its buses, bus stops, light-rail trains and stations starting next week, in an effort to limit spread of the coronavirus.
Starting Monday, anyone without a qualifying exemption who does not wear a mask “will be denied service,” RT says on its website. Staff have started to give free masks to those who request them, are handing them out at some of the region’s most populated stations and plan to make them available soon upon boarding buses or trains.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state on June 18 ordered it mandatory for most people over the age of 2 to wear face coverings in most public or shared indoor spaces, including public transit, with limited exceptions. That decision came as COVID-19 activity across the state and the U.S. at large began a spike that has intensified this week, with California surpassing 5,700 deaths from the disease and fast approaching 200,000 total infections.
RT in a news release Thursday said it has focused its efforts on education and encouragement to this point, but will begin enforcement via refusal of service next week.
Masks are not required for anyone with a medical, mental or developmental condition that prevents them from wearing a face covering, according to the state order. They are also not required for those who are deaf or who have hearing loss, as well as those communicating with them.
The free masks provided by RT have been donated by the Federal Transportation Administration, according to Thursday’s news release.
