Mask Transit: MTA Face Covering Effort Snags Neighboring Agencies

NEW YORK CITY —MTA’s effort to derail maskless straphangers on subways, trains and buses is going regional.

The “Mask Force” program will expand to MTA’s sister transit agencies — Amtrak, the Port Authority, NJ Transit and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority — announced Patrick Foye, MTA’s executive director, on Tuesday.

“Together we can keep the New York-New Jersey region safe as coronavirus cases spike across the nation,” he said.

MTA officials unveiled the effort in July as a way to boost compliance with mask wearing. It arrived with PSAs voiced by Rosie Perez and hundreds of volunteers handing out masks to subway and bus passengers.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo later added some teeth to the mask wearing rule — MTA riders face a $50 fine if they refuse to wear masks.

“Thankfully, to date we’ve only had to issue 10 summonses in thousands of encounters,” Foye said. “In most cases, commuters have either put their masks on or adjusted it properly to cover their face when approached by police or MTA staff.”

Mask compliance on subways, buses and commuter rail is above 90 percent, Foye said.

The transit agencies will combine their existing mask campaign efforts, which will include free distributions of face coverings, officials said.