Federal Mask Mandate Includes ECAT Buses

February 11, 2021

Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) is reminding residents that face masks are required to ride public transportation.

Face masks have been required to ride ECAT since December 21, 2020.

On January 21, 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order requiring mask wearing on all modes of public transportation including intercity buses and trains. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order which requires people to wear masks while on all public transportation and conveyances (trains, airplanes, ferries, etc.) and at transportation hubs.

ECAT has provided free face masks since June 1, 2020, and will continue to do so.

“Although ECAT will have face masks available, riders are urged to plan ahead and bring their own face coverings before boarding any public transit,” said ECAT Mass Transit Director Tonya Ellis. “We would like to thank our ridership for following these federal orders, making the ride enjoyable and safe for our customers and operators.”

ECAT operators will also continue to wear masks. All ECAT employees are subject to temperature checks when they arrive to work as a precaution.

According to these orders, operators must use best efforts to ensure that any person on the conveyance wears a mask when boarding, disembarking, and for the duration of travel or while entering or on the premises of the transportation hub. Depending on the circumstances, operators must take the following actions:

  • Board/allow entry only people who wear masks;
  • instruct people that wearing a mask on the conveyance/premises is a requirement of federal law and that not complying with the requirement is a violation of federal law;
  • monitor the conveyance/premises for any person who is not wearing a mask and seek compliance from such a person;
  • at the earliest safe opportunity, disembark/remove from premises any person who refuses to comply; and
  • notify people of the requirement to make sure they aware of and comply with the requirement to wear a mask. Examples of such notifications are messaging in apps, on websites or through email; posters in multiple languages with illustrations; and printing the information on tickets.

Riders also are required to properly wear the face covering according to CDC guidelines for their entire trip, including covering the face and nose.

People are not required to wear a mask under the following circumstances:

  • while eating, drinking, or taking medication for brief periods of time;
  • while communicating, for brief periods of time, with a person who is hearing impaired when the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication;
  • if unconscious (for reasons other than sleeping), incapacitated, unable to be awakened, or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance; or
  • when necessary to temporarily remove the mask to verify one’s identity such as during Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening or when asked to do so by the ticket or gate agent or any law enforcement official.

The following categories of people are exempt from the requirement to wear a mask:

  • A child under the age of 2 years;
  • A person with a disability who cannot wear a mask, or cannot safely wear a mask, for reasons related to the disability;
  • A person for whom wearing a mask would create a risk to workplace health, safety, or job duty as determined by the relevant workplace safety guidelines or federal regulations.

Comments

14 Responses to “Federal Mask Mandate Includes ECAT Buses”

  1. Gooby on February 12th, 2021 2:00 am

    You may not care about your life to be protected when you go outside but you must respect others who are not willing to take the risk of bringing this home to their love ones. You may have had it and survived it like a common cold. There are people with weak immune system, elderly, and folks with poor health who will suffer a far greater fait. EVEN DEATH! Please just mask up.

  2. Frank Denali on February 11th, 2021 11:51 pm

    A mask mandate is not law. It is unconstitutional to enforce this law. I have been to businesses in the city limits to test the law and not once has anyone called the police on me. No official or officer has tried to enforce it. Why? Because they know its unconstitutional. I dont care about your complaints. Because you live in fear does not mean I will. Funny how people think this is a “Trump” or Republican thing not to wear a mask…. think again. You are sucked into the political media machine making you believe anything. I voted for Biden and im black and im a blue dog Democrat. These “mandates” are purely symbolic without enforcement. They are just playing politics to make the “naives” feel better to garner your vote. Social media comments are not enforcement LOL. Carry on.

  3. William 2 on February 11th, 2021 8:00 pm

    All the forever Trumpers, and for those just to ignorant to wear a mask to protect not only yourself, your family and all others; one question I have for you if I may? Anyone have a family member or friend die from COVID? Enough said/asked…..mature a little people, please

  4. Tc on February 11th, 2021 4:31 pm

    Mask mandates have been in effect for months now yet Covid cases are still rising . Lotta good these masks are doing

  5. John Johnson on February 11th, 2021 4:19 pm

    Trump said wear your mask.

  6. just sayin on February 11th, 2021 3:39 pm

    @ Live Free. I agree the bus is not free to the tax payers. But last I heard it was free to ride during the pandemic.

  7. No one on February 11th, 2021 2:18 pm

    14 days to flatten the curve
    2 months- it’s working keep going
    9 months, a new administration is coming in, keep masking and get your vaccine
    10 months..new administration: Keep masking for 100 more days.even if you get your vaccine
    What comes after 100 days you ask…… 100 more of course.

  8. Aaron on February 11th, 2021 12:50 pm

    ya’ll are easier to look at with masks! (myself included)

    just do the right thing people.

  9. Thomas Paine on February 11th, 2021 12:05 pm

    All these real tough folks and not one of them can wear a mask. Grow up. Do the bare minimum. This is an inconvenience, not a trampling of your rights.

  10. Live free or die on February 11th, 2021 11:23 am

    @just sayin
    The ECAT is not free.
    Neither you, a citizen, nor the government has the power to tell us what have to put or not on our face.

    The governor has disabled fines and arrests over this nonsense anyway, so if you hate freedom, feel free not to ride by yourself in a private auto or ride a bicycle.

  11. just sayin on February 11th, 2021 8:36 am

    If the riders don’t like it then they can look for other free means of transportation.

  12. Jim on February 11th, 2021 8:30 am

    More and more people have had the virus, and are neither contagious nor susceptible. For these people, wearing a mask is nonsense.

  13. Stephen on February 11th, 2021 7:59 am

    So, this is the game they want to play? Mandate it for us, but not follow their own mandates. Look at Biden in the White House (a federal building) without a mask on. Look at Congress in the Capitol (a federal building) without mask on. When will you sheep realize that this is about control? The sooner we all decide enough is enough, the sooner we have enough of this, the sooner we can get back to normal.

  14. SW on February 11th, 2021 6:35 am

    Since when are executive orders laws? Since shin dies CDC get to write laws and impose fines? Congress hasn’t written, nor has it passed such laws, nor has the president signed such a law.
    Oh, and the police will enforce such non-laws by arresting violators for trespassing?
    Guess they’re: Just. Following. Orders.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News