What you should know
- Starting Thursday, September 23, officials from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will intensify the application of the use of masks throughout the public transportation system by increasing the possibilities of fining $ 50 to the people who do not meet this biosecurity requirement, the agency announced Wednesday.
- The use of masks within public transportation, such as trains, buses, and other types of vehicles, is a federal requirement regardless of vaccination status.
- The goal of greater law enforcement is to increase the use of masks in all agencies and return to the compliance levels of 2020 and early 2021, where almost 100% of passengers used the mask on board the subway, buses , commuter railways and other vehicles.
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NEW YORK – Starting Thursday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will strengthen the application of masks throughout its transit system in a bid to increase the use of masks as the city continues to grapple with the ongoing pandemic.
This continues, an approach that was established in September 2020 when the MTA implemented a $ 50 fine to help increase mask compliance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Passengers who do not comply with the use of masks could still receive a fine and a citation, according to the MTA.
The transportation agency made the announcement Wednesday, as it reminds passengers that wearing masks is a federal requirement on trains, buses and paratransit vehicles regardless of vaccination status.
The MTA noted that after Labor Day it began with a mask distribution bombardment, with agency staff and Police officers strategically stationed in metro hubs and bus terminals. The team distributed tens of thousands of free masks to passengers who were not wearing masks.
This measure continues along with the implementation of a fine of $ 50 for those who do not comply with the measure.
The goal of greater law enforcement is to increase the use of masks in all agencies and return to the compliance levels of 2020 and early 2021, where almost 100% of passengers used the mask on board the subway, buses , commuter railways and other vehicles.
Since the $ 50 fine was implemented on September 14, 2020, MTA police officers have had more than 88,000 positive encounters with customers.
This has included the distribution of more than 50,000 free masks in total, 25,000 in the two weeks since delivery of these items began on September 7.
“Promoting the use of masks is an important component of protecting each other,” said Patrick Warren, MTA safety director. “To support the use of masks, we have provided tens of millions of more free masks to customers. This next phase of our bombardment will reinforce that wearing a mask is not optional. Vaccinated or not, it should be used when traveling by public transport ”.
Since delivery of masks to key transit centers began, use of masks has increased. The latest surveys show that mask compliance on board buses is about 94%, 87% in the subway, 92% in the LIRR and 95% in Metro-North.
To date, the MTA has made 11.1 million masks available to customers. Through the campaign Mask Force of the Authority, which launched in July 2020, more than 800,000 free masks have been distributed to customers.
The free masks remain available to any customer who forgets to take them in the cabins of the metro stations and on the commuter trains on board.
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