BART renews mask requirement

BART riders will be required to mask up once again after the transit agency's Board of Directors voted to reinstate a masking requirement through mid-July.

Following a flood of calls from concerned BART riders during a meeting on Thursday, board members made a near-unanimous vote approving a mask mandate, saying the operator needs to protect vulnerable riders who rely on the service.

The decision, which impacts the system's 50 stations in five counties, makes BART the lone Bay Area transit system to mandate masks. Last week, a federal court in Florida voided a federal mask mandate that led airlines and transit agencies across the country to make mask-wearing optional.

BART's new mask policy also raises the thorny issue of how it will enforce face coverings when many Bay Area residents are increasingly ditching masks in many other indoor settings.

BART police – not station managers – will enforce the mandate, and they will focus on warnings and providing masks to unmasked riders, but riders could be ejected from the system for not complying or face up to $75 citations.

“The goal is to not penalize people,” said Rebecca Saltzman, the board president. “The goal is to get people to wear their masks.”

Saltzman, along with six other board members, approved of the new mask rule, which amends the code of conduct to require masks through July 18 with exemptions for children under the age of two and people unable to wear masks due to medical conditions. Directors Robert Raburn and Debora Allen abstained, saying they would prefer to see masks strongly encouraged but not mandated.

Raburn said that BART pursuing its own mask requirement without the backing of the health department mandate is “problematic.”