MTA installs free mask dispensers inside buses
Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit
In a continued effort to COVID-proof public transportation, the MTA has installed mask dispensers at the entrance to city buses. The pilot program is now on 100 buses in the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island, and it will expand to 400 buses in all five boroughs by next month. The free surgical mask dispensers–each of which holds 50 masks and will be refilled daily–are mounted at the front door of express buses and at the front and rear doors of SBS and local buses. Masks are required to ride any bus or subway.
Photos: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit
“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 and Senior Vice President of Buses for MTA New York City Transit. “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.”
Photo: Trent Reeves / Metropolitan Transportation Authoriity
Other steps the MTA has taken on buses are installing protective barriers in front of the drivers and allowing rear-door boarding on local buses. They’ve also updated the MYmta app to include real-time data for the number of passengers on an arriving bus. Both buses and subways are being disinfected daily, part of which is a $1 million UV light pilot program. In subway stations, the agency has installed PPE vending machines that sell items such as face masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes.
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