The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is among the agencies around the country keeping mask mandates in place, even after Monday's sweeping ruling by a federal judge in Florida that struck down the federal government's mask mandate for public transportation.
A statement from CTDOT reads, "Passengers and employees must continue wearing a mask on CTtransit buses and Metro-North, Hartford Line, and Shore Line East rail service in Connecticut. We continue to wait for further guidance and clarification from the Federal government on whether they will appeal the recent court ruling."
After that statement was issued on Tuesday, the Justice Department announced it will not appeal the federal court ruling, unless the Centers for Disease Control believes the mask requirement is still necessary.
Jim Gildea, the chairman of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council, argues CTDOT's announcement won't make much of a difference, because enforcement of the mask mandate on trains has been "sloppy at best," especially in recent months.
"There's been a significant shift in the last 30 to 60 days where I think they've pretty much dropped any pretense of enforcing the masks (aboard trains)," says Gildea. "You can just go on any social media page and see picture after picture of people not wearing masks."
Amtrak says masks are now optional aboard its trains.
The Transportation Security Agency (TSA) is no longer enforcing the federal mask mandate. Other agencies have presented varied responses to the ruling. The Connecticut Airport Authority says it is no longer enforcing a mask mandate at Bradley Airport or its other facilities. But some out-of-state airports are keeping the mandate in place. For example, masks are still required at New York City's airports, JFK and LaGuardia, and on the NYC transit system.
