Hamilton says over 70% of bus riders wearing masks
But some disgruntled passengers say too many still refuse to cover up
Hamilton says more than 70 per cent of bus riders are now wearing masks on the city’s buses — but free face-coverings may be on the way to help boost pandemic transit safety.
Hamilton made non-medical masks “mandatory” for most passengers on the city’s HSR system buses last week but officials conceded they would not enforce the rule with penalties or ride denials for scofflaws.
Since then, early data from the HSR suggests the number of passengers wearing masks is “in the high 70 per cent” range, said Emergency Operations Centre director Paul Johnson on Friday.
He called that rate of mask use “really, really encouraging” — but also noted the city’s goal is to have at least 90 per cent of riders cover up to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 as the number of pandemic bus users starts to grow.
The optimistic estimates might surprise some disgruntled riders who have posted online about stubbornly uncovered fellow passengers.
A regular HSR user called Phil Juen on Twitter questioned the city’s commitment to “mandatory” masks on Thursday.
“How true is this? I’m on a bus with (nine) other people, literally only (two) of us wearing masks,” he wrote, later noting some buses also appear to be allowing too many people aboard. “How seriously are we taking this?”
Other riders posted similar complaints about few, if any, masks in use on Mountain routes as well as the always busy Barton and B-Line routes in the lower city.
Several urged bus drivers or other city staff to enforce the mask rule, even if it means denying rides.
That won’t happen, said Johnson, because there are exemptions for residents with breathing problems.
“There really is no effective way to enforce this,” he said. “We are not going to ask people personal health questions ... nor are we going to spend the resources to bring on a large number of people to enforce.”
But Johnson said the city is working on a plan to safely hand out free masks to riders who need them — a key request of unionized HSR drivers. Details are expected this week, ahead of the July 1 reintroduction of paid fares.
But Johnson also urged passengers to report instances where they see many riders not using masks. “That will help us,” he said. “We can follow up and see if that is a trend on that route, or not.”