Bay Area Rapid Transit is requiring riders to wear masks again after letting the requirement expire two weeks ago.
The decision by BART officials to reinstate the COVID-19 mask mandate has left some riders confused over the rules, adding the back-and-forth is hard to keep up with.
"It's a little confusing," said Connor Boal, a rider from Concord. "I use BART semi-frequently and I know in the last few months it has changed a couple of time."
The changes goes back to April, when California's Department of Public Health dropped all mask requirements for public transit. Agencies such as Muni, Caltrain and AC Transit all followed suit.
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BART decided to keep requiring masks, extending its mandate to July 18. However, eight days after it expired, the BART board voted to extend the mask requirement once again -- this time into October.
"There's a lot of people catching COVID," El Sobrante resident Gwendolyn said. "So why not protect everybody by wearing your mask?"
A BART spokesperson said in an e-mail to NBC Bay Area transit agency staff do their best to inform riders of the mask requirement -- ranging from signage to information posted online.
BART hoped county health departments would take the lead on mask mandates, but it never happened. So the transit agency acted on its own and brought back the requirement - at least for now.
