Sophie Sonnenfeld Photos
Masks given out on Green Tuesday by CTtransit.
CTtransit driver Valentine Perez said about 80 percent of his passengers get on the bus wearing required face masks to protect people from the spread of Covid-19. He can’t stop the others from coming on board.
CTtransit company policy and Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive order prevent Perez and other drivers from refusing maskless riders.
Perez (pictured above) expressed that concern as state transit officials made two visits to New Haven, Tuesday morning and afternoon, to hand out free masks to passengers in order to encourage the practice of wearing them. Similar giveaways took place at 17 locations statewide.
Lamont released an executive order in April requiring face masks on all public transit to restrict the spread of Covid-19. It states that those with medical conditions exacerbated by wearing a mask or children under 2 years old can be exempt from the order.
The order also says those who decline to wear a mask due to a medical condition are not required to produce medical documentation. This clause is to protect the privacy of riders. The clause also prohibits drivers from actually requiring masks on board and some passengers from feeling safe, based on interviews conducted during the giveaway.
The giveaway took place at the CTtransit ticket booth on Chapel Street on the New Haven Green.
Lamont Bell, who has worked there for six years, said by 3:30 Tuesday afternoon about four or five people approached the kiosk to get a mask.
Bell said he wasn’t surprised by the low demand. “It’s almost August. Everybody already got the memo they have to get their own mask.”
Lamont Bell.
He told the Independent everyone he’s seen board the buses have been wearing masks. He also said there have been no confrontations between passengers who refuse to wear masks with drivers or fellow passengers at the station.
New Havener Mark Clark said about three out of every 25 people he typically sees on the bus aren’t wearing face masks. “I don’t feel safe,” he said. Clark, who rides the bus multiple times a day, said he worries about Covid-19 spreading onboard.
Clark said he thinks the drivers should be allowed to refuse passengers without masks. “If restaurants can enforce it, why not buses?”
CT Department of Transportation Communications Director Kevin Nursick said a vast majority of riders are wearing masks on buses: “What we’ve seen is general societal willingness to comply with reasonable requests to help prevent the spread of the virus by wearing masks.”
While there have been some people who have “pushed it to the limit,” Nursick said, most of the time people will board a bus without a mask because of a medical condition or because of an honest mistake.
“Let’s face it: People aren’t used to this” he said.
Nursick said CTtransit and the CT Department of Transportation decided to hold mask distribution events across the state to fight “pandemic fatigue” and remind all passengers to keep wearing masks. “We’re trying to keep momentum going to protect passengers, drivers, and operators.”
As for those with medical conditions, Nursick said it’s important CTtransit drivers and operators not invade passenger privacy. “It’s not our place to judge and ask about medical conditions, because whose business is it?”
Clark added that he thinks CTtransit should step up cleaning procedures. In March, CT Transit announced it would follow CDC protocols to start sanitizing buses daily by wiping down high contact surfaces with disinfectants.
Clark said that some buses he has recently ridden were in desperate need of a clean. “They might spray some parts of the bus, but that doesn’t mean it’s really cleaned,” he said.
Daily rider Ada Hobby said she too worries about people who aren’t wearing masks aboard the buses. At the bus station, Hobby claimed her own bench. She said she intentionally spreads out her belongings so no one will violate the six feet of social distancing.
On the bus, Hobby noted, it’s harder to maintain this same level of social distance. As reported by the Independent last week, bus ridership has been at around 50 percent of the norm since March, with recent upticks to 70 percent in early July.
Nursick told the Independent all buses are requiring social distancing between passengers by keeping everyone spaced six feet apart on board. Because bus ridership has remained relatively high, Nursick said, they are using helper buses on busier routes to ensure social distancing for passengers.
Nursick added that this social distancing and increased cleaning procedures act as an extra safeguard to protect passengers against maskless riders. “It’s not perfect, but it’s better than it could be with no additional measures in place.”
At the outdoor station on Chapel Street, most passengers waiting for buses had their masks partly or completely pulled down. Hobby said she understands why people pull down their masks outside in the sweltering heat; if she’s distant from others outdoors, she said, she’ll briefly pull hers off her nose.
Ada Hobby.
But on the bus, Hobby said, she always keeps it fully on. So she never forgets her mask, Hobby said, she always keeps an extra one in her bags and encourages others to do the same. “I’m not taking any chances. I’m really scared of getting it” she said.
Hobby said she thinks the drivers should be able to bar passengers who refuse to wear masks to protect other passengers like herself.
After several CTtransit employees contracted Covid-19 and drivers voiced concerns over a lack of protective protocols, CTtransit ramped up bus sanitizations and cleanings, required passengers to enter and exit through the rear door, and used chains to bar passengers from the front of the bus near the driver. Disabled passengers in wheelchairs or passengers who need assistance are still allowed to use the door at the front of the bus.
Joanne Phillips, who was waiting for a bus at the stop on Chapel, said every passenger on the buses she’s been on in New Haven has been wearing a mask. “I always feel very safe,” she said. Phillips said she’s impressed with all the precautions CTtransit has taken to ensure passengers and drivers are safe.
Mary Harrell said she too feels safe on the buses and has seen very few if any passengers without masks. Harrell, who is disabled and uses a walker, said what has been more difficult recently is boarding the buses.
Mary Harrell (left) and Mark Clark.
Harrell said drivers have been allowing her to board at the front of the bus, but she has been struggling to get on when some drivers haven’t been lowering the ramps sufficiently anymore.
Ernest Parrish Jr. is disabled and has had trouble boarding the buses recently as well. Parrish walks with a cane. He said he can’t reach his leg up enough to board through the rear door of the bus. Despite CTtransit rules, Parrish said, several drivers have refused to let him get on at the front of the bus, forcing him to wait for another.
Ernest Parrish Jr..
Parrish also suffers from asthma, but said he always wears a mask on the bus and wishes other passengers would too.
Perez, who has been driving with CTtransit for 14 years, said he feels safe with CTtransit’s Covid-19 policies. “I think they’re doing the best they can,” he said. While Perez can’t remove passengers who don’t wear masks, he said he is taking his own extra precautions to sanitize and stay distant from passengers.
“We have to take care of ourselves,” he said.
The state policy risks the lives and health of of bus drivers, for no good reason. There are very few people who have legitimate conditions that prevent them from wearing mask for the length of a ride, but right wing media encourages people to lie about their condition.
If you truly can't wear a cloth mask, you can always wear a face shield. They are very cheap and durable and they will at least partly protect others from your potentially infectious spit and breath.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=face shields&crid=2YPJ6NOOD9CVY&sprefix=face shields reusable