BART's mask requirement is back.
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The Bay Area Rapid Transit board of directors on Thursday voted to reinstate the agency's mask mandate amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the Bay Area.
Prior to Thursday's vote, face coverings had been optional on BART since last week's ruling in Florida which invalidated the federal mask mandate on transit and planes.
The new ruling is not an ordinance, but rather an amendment to the BART code of conduct. The temporary mask mandate will be in effect starting Thursday until July 18.
"I strongly support requiring a mask to ride BART to keep all our riders safe," BART Board President Rebecca Saltzman said in a release. "I'm especially concerned for our riders who are immunocompromised, people with underlying health conditions, and children under the age of five who are not yet eligible for vaccination."
The requirement applies to trains and all portions of the stations beyond the fare gates, according to BART spokesperson Alicia Trost. Children two and under as well as those who with a medical exemption are not required to follow the mandate.
BART police will offer free masks onsite to anyone who needs them. Failure to comply could result in a citation of up to $75 or ejection from the pay area.
The vast majority of speakers at the board of directors' meeting were in favor of the mandate.
However, notably, the president of the Amalgamated Transit Union spoke out against the decision, fearing for potential assaults of station agents who might be put in the position of enforcing that mandate.
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