Susan Smith and Mike Sauder ride a bus after Butler Transit Authority rescinded their mask requirement in Butler on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. "If I have to wear it I will," said Smith, who rides the bus "constantly." She said she doesn't like to wear a mask because it makes her breathing difficult. Joseph Ressler/Butler Eagle 4/19/22

As the first buses left their Butler County stops Tuesday, they did so without the sign requiring its riders to wear masks.

Around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Grant Clicquennoi, of Butler, exited a bus at the Butler Public Transit Authority terminal at 128 W. New Castle St., Butler. Along with a majority of those departing buses at the time, he was not wearing a mask.

“I saw it on the news last night,” Clicquennoi said. “I was happy about it.”

Late Monday morning, a federal judge in Florida struck down a national mask mandate involving airplanes and other forms of mass transit. The affected entities swiftly began repealing requirements that passengers wear face coverings.

“They are no longer required on our buses,” said Kelly Stewart, a public relations specialist for the Butler Transit Authority.

The decision allows airlines, airports and mass transit systems to make their own decisions about mask requirements, resulting in a mix of responses. For Butler’s bus riders it will be their choice about whether to wear a mask or not.

Clicquennoi said he felt that was the way it should be. He said he has asthma, and there are times he will wear a mask, but for the most part prefers not to. He said he breathes better without a mask.

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