NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Commuters are calling on the MTA to step up mask enforcement on the Long Island Rail Road, where compliance has recently fallen under 90% among riders.
According to LIRR officials, only 88% of riders on the commuter rail are in compliance with the mask policy. And now, as the delta variant continues to surge across the United States, riders are asking that more be done to increase the use of face coverings.
Some riders spoke with Newsday about the mask compliance and said they were angry with how the passengers have been allowed to violate the policy unchecked.
"If you don’t enforce the rule, then why have the rule to begin with?" one passenger told the outlet.
LIRR President Phil Eng notes that there has been some “confusion” regarding mask rules, but MTA Police and LIRR employees have been doing their best to boost mask wearing.
“I see many who sometimes say, ‘Oh, I forgot. I have my mask, let me put it on,’” Eng said. “The ones that don't want to wear it –those are the ones that we thank MTAPD for their efforts because those are the ones that the enforcement folks are best to handle.”
Eng says the majority of people asked to wear a mask will typically comply with the rule.
The LIRR president says they are stepping up messaging to make sure people are aware that they have to wear masks – regardless of vaccination status.
“We've been doing a very robust outreach – enhancing and more frequent train messages across the system, both on our platforms and in our train, on our digital screens and through the use of social media,” Eng said.
The LIRR president says while there had been a decline in mask usage over the last few months, it has continued to go up in recent weeks due to a fear of the delta variant.