MTA Installs Mask Dispensers On Buses

NEW YORK CITY — A Queens bus rider recently shared her fears over the sight of a fellow passenger without a mask.

"All it takes is one unmasked person to infect this whole bus," wrote Twitter user @NehaInQueens, along with snaps of a maskless man standing too close for comfort to another passenger.

A new MTA program could help cut down on sights like that aboard buses during the coronavirus pandemic.

MTA recently installed mask dispensers on 100 buses on six routes in the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island, officials said.

They plan to expand the program next month into 400 buses on 20 routes in all boroughs.

"This is another important way we are coming up with solutions to ensure customers can conveniently obtain a mask if they have lost or forgotten their own when they board our buses," said Craig Cipriano, president of the MTA Bus Company, in a statement. "When you wear a face covering on public transit you’re doing so out of respect for your fellow passengers and the health and safety of our bus operators – plus it’s the law."

The mask dispensers contain 50 surgical masks, according to a release. They're currently on the Bx12 SBS and Bx41 SBS routes in the Bronx, the S53 Staten Island local route and the X63, X64 and X68 express routes in Queens, the release states.