Safety & Security

Transit agencies join forces to promote mask usage

Jan. 8, 2021

The agencies have produced a video with “a simple task” request of riders: Wear a mask.

Transit employees from across the nation joined efforts in a new video encouraging mask wearing while using public transit.

A group of transit agencies joined forces to share a message with riders across all transit networks: Wherever and whenever you ride, wear a mask.

The group of transit employees explains in a video they are doing everything they can to get riders to their destinations safety, but they can’t do it alone. They request riders to wear a mask for themselves, their fellow travelers and their communities. The transit employees then state who they wear their own masks to protect.

The video includes transit representatives from:

Foothill Transit in West Covina, Calif.
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas, Nev.
Trinity Metro in Fort Worth, Texas
Greater Peoria Mass Transit (CityLink) in Peoria, Ill.
Metro Transit in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
Milwaukee County Transit System in Milwaukee, Wis.
Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA/Metro) in Cincinnati, Ohio
King County Metro in Seattle, Wash.
Blacksburg Transit in Blacksburg, Va.

An accompanying blog written by Drew Kerr, senior communications specialist with Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro Transit, explains Metro Transit has placed reminders to use face coverings throughout the transit system and has distributed nearly 100,000 masks to those in need of one – all efforts expected to continue throughout 2021, even as more people receive vaccination against COVID-19.

All of the participating agencies in the video have also signed on to the American Public Transportation Association’s Health & Safety Commitments Program, which was launched in September and lays out a set of actions both agencies and riders can take to keep the risk of transmission of viruses low while using public transportation during the COVID-19 crisis.

The 39-second video can be viewed here:

About the Author

Mischa Wanek-Libman | Editor in Chief

Mischa Wanek-Libman serves as editor in chief of Mass Transit magazine. She is responsible for developing and maintaining the magazine’s editorial direction and is based in the western suburbs of Chicago.

Wanek-Libman has spent more than 20 years covering transportation issues including construction projects and engineering challenges for various commuter railroads and transit agencies. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.

She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and serves as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.

She is a graduate of Drake University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with a major in magazine journalism and a minor in business management.