Buttigieg emphasizes mask wearing on public transit; Bay Area has plan

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg met with transportation workers last week to discuss the importance of the recently announced federal mask requirements for public transit employees and users to mitigate the risk of COVID-19.

Last summer, Bay Area transit agencies released the Riding Together: Bay Area Healthy Transit Plan to protect the health and safety of transit riders and employees, and to build confidence in public transit when the region emerges from shelter-in-place restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Buttigieg emphasized the health and safety of the American public is the Biden Administration’s top priority. 

On Jan. 29, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention issued an order requiring masks to be worn throughout the nation’s transportation networks, stating that all transit passengers and workers must wear masks on transit vehicles and in transit facilities.  On Jan. 31, the Transportation Security Administration  issued a security directive implementing the order, stating that it applies to passenger railroads, intercity bus services and public transportation.