Montgomery County Ride On bus passengers are not required to wear face coverings. Montgomery County made the announcement in a statement Tuesday. Monday, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) suspended the federal requirement for face coverings on all modes of public transportation. This was based on a Federal judge’s ruling that the Center for Disease Control and Prvention’s mask mandate was unconstitutional.
MCDOT said in a statement that passengers are no longer required to wear a mask, but are strongly encouraged to voluntarily wear them. Ride On bus operators will no longer be required to wear a mask.
“We think this is a bad decision to ver-rule our nation’s public health experts,” said County Executive Marc Elrich in a statement. “As we join the region and comply with this decision, we are going to continue to monitor our transmission rates and legal options regarding masking. We highly encourage all residents to wear masks on our buses, as well as in crowded indoor areas. And, as we currently see our COVID rates increase, it is imperative that everyone stays up to date on their vaccinations.”
We think this is a bad decision to over-rule our nation’s public health experts. As we join the region and comply with this decision, we are going to continue to monitor transmission rates/legal options. We highly encourage all residents to continue to wear masks on buses. https://t.co/sJ3QwIbrBv
— County Exec Marc Elrich (@MontCoExec) April 19, 2022
Metro announced Monday that it was lifting the mask mandate throughout its transportations system. The county decided to lift its mask mandate to provide passengers with consistency with Metro. County health officials strongly recommend masking. This is important for those riders who are unvaccinated, immunocompromised or have chronic diseases that put them at higher risk for serious illness from COVID-19.
Ride On continues to offer free fares to all riders until at least July 2, 2022. Ride One will continue to provide free masks to riders when needed.
Previous posts:
CDC Encourages Public to Use Cloth Face Coverings to Slow Spread of COVID-19
Masks Still Required on Public Transportation Until at Least September
New County Order: Face Covering Must Now Cover Mouth, Nose and Chin
Five Places in Montgomery County Selling Face Masks to the Public
