New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed Executive Order No. 125 on April 11 that will require both riders and transit workers to wear cloth face coverings when on New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) buses and trains and limits number of riders a vehicle can carry at one time, among other edicts meant to protect riders and workers from the possible spread of COVID-19.
As of Sunday, April 12, the state had 61,850 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus, which includes 2,350 deaths from the virus.
“We must continue our commitment to do everything we can to flatten the curve and defeat this virus,” said Gov. Murphy. “With these additional requirements, we are aggressively reducing the spread of the virus to protect New Jersey residents.”
The executive order goes into effect at 8:00 p.m. on April 13 and requires NJ Transit and private carriers contracted with the agency to provide workers with cloth face coverings, limit the number of passengers to 50 percent of stated vehicle capacity to encourage social distancing, board buses through the back door when possible, as well as provide drivers with added social distance by removing seats at the front of vehicles when possible.
NJ Transit says it has provided more than 604,000 gloves and 162,000 masks to employees for use on the job since March 1, 2020 and has been encouraging customers to wear masks since the Centers for Disease Control adjusted its guidance last week to recommend that everyone wear a face covering in situations where social distancing could be difficult.
