Metro’s mask handouts hit 2 million mark
The Metropolitan Transit Authority has distributed more than 2 million face masks to riders since the agency mandated the facial coverings last summer, officials said this week.
Metro spokesman Jerome Gray said handouts of disposable masks peaked at about 15,000 masks daily in the summer before sliding to about 5,000 each day during January.
Metro purchased 3 million masks in late summer so it would have plenty to hand out to encourage compliance among riders and provide to staff. Still, some riders have criticized the agency online for lax enforcement, such as riders pulling their masks down when aboard buses and trains and drivers failing to enforce proper mask use.
Gray said supervisors routinely perform 200 “compliance checks” daily to make sure bus operators and others are following the rules.
“This check includes walking onto a bus, confirming the operator is wearing a mask and seeing if passengers are correctly wearing a mask,” Gray said. “Supervisors
will also check that the destination sign is displaying the ‘masks required to ride’ message.”
Though Metro made masks mandatory June 25, the requirements took on additional weight Monday night when guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention kicked in, mandating mask use on all
publicly accessible transportation, including airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, buses, taxis and ride-hailing vehicles.
Transit officials nationwide for the past year have been caught in a balancing act as they encouraged mask use while reassuring people about the safety of buses and trains as they simultaneously urged people to avoid unnecessary trips. Metro ridership for December was roughly half that of the same month in 2019, including an 86 percent drop in commuter bus use.
Still, where needed, service must remain operational but safe, transit officials said.
“A review of studies from around the world indicates minimal risk from using public transit, especially where specific safeguards are in place, such as face coverings,” the American Public Transportation Association said in a statement. “The CDC mask order is another step that allows public transportation to be a key component in reviving our communities and the nation’s economy.” Health experts also are warning that transit is going to play a critical role in getting some elderly and low-income residents access to potential lifesaving vaccine.
In Houston, however, advocates said the solution may be more locations where people can receive the vaccine than more buses to ferry people fewer places.
“The closer a vaccination center is to home, the more likely that someone can reach it regardless of their transportation mode,” said Oni Blair, executive director of LINK Houston, which works in low-income communities to increase mobility options.
Blair said choosing vaccine locations that address where the virus has inflicted the most vulnerable people is critical, especially where health centers and other facilities might be scarce.
“No amount of transportation is going to offset the reality that there are too few vaccination hubs/centers east of Interstate 45, although that’s where many hot spots for COVID exist,” Blair said.