Transit passengers and drivers must still wear masks. The Regional Transportation Commission issued that reminder less than a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fully-vaccinated individuals would no longer need to mask up.
Masks will be required on all RTC buses and its transit facilities through Sept. 13.
Gov. Steve Sisolak aligned Nevada’s masking requirements with CDC recommendations earlier this year. With the CDC’s policy revision announced Thursday, May 13, Nevada followed suit.
It’s not a free-for-all, however. The CDC said that masks are still required for all individuals on all modes of public transportation. That includes RTC’s buses and other transit options, airplanes and trains.
Masking has been controversial on RTC buses since the start of the pandemic. RTC officials have said compliance with its mask mandate is at 99.9%. Area bus drivers say that’s not the case. They’ve been in a dispute with Keolis North America, RTC’s operator, for more than a year because of what they say is insufficient enforcement of masking requirements and other safety measures.
“They have been running packed buses with many passengers maskless for almost a year. That’s how drivers have been sickened to near death,” said Andrew Barbano, a spokesperson for Teamsters Union Local 533 which represents the drivers.
RTC has installed mask dispensers on its buses and offers free masks to those passengers who do not have one.
