County follows TSA removal of mask mandate
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.
“I think if there’s a bad outbreak, wearing a mask is a good thing,” Clicquennoi said. “I don’t think you should be forced to wear one.”
As Clicquennoi walked away from the terminal, another passenger, who was wearing a mask, stepped onto a different bus.
That passenger, Pam Smith of Butler, said she didn’t want the ban to be lifted.
Smith said she feels safer when everyone is wearing a mask, especially when confronted daily with the uncertainty of COVID-19. The disease can have a lengthy incubation period, making it hard to prevent its spread.
Smith said she has an auto-immune disorder, which places her at a higher risk for contracting serious symptoms of COVID-19.
“I’m nervous about people sneezing,” she said. “It’s too dangerous. You never know.”
Following the judge’s decision, the federal Transportation Security Administration announced Monday night that it would it will no longer enforce the mask requirement.
The Butler Transit Authority also had been following the guidance of both the TSA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when it imposed its own masking restrictions.
As of Tuesday morning, the Butler Transit Authority removed a banner on its website calling for masks to be worn on its buses and at its terminal. Bus riders also noticed that signs posted on the bus were no longer there.
Authority staff could not speak about the bus drivers, whose rules are set by their employer, MV Transportation.
George Harrison, a safety manager for MV Transportation, said drivers will not be required to wear masks moving forward.
“As a matter of convenience, I think the drivers will be happier; however if there’s a new strain of COVID-19 coming out, I think masks should be optional,“ Harrison said.
Bus driver Linda Czapski said she was glad about the mandate’s lifting. She said riders will have less reason to confront drivers who ask them to wear a mask, and she hopes riders will argue less with one another about them.
“It’s a lot smoother,” she said. “It’s long overdue.”
The decision by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, also said the CDC failed to justify its decision and did not follow proper rule-making procedures that left it fatally flawed.
In March, many schools across the country, including those in Butler County, allowed students to remove their masks while on buses, after the CDC removed its requirements for masks on transit.
At the time, local school districts, such as South Butler County School District, gave each person a choice on wearing a mask.
“Any student or driver who is more comfortable wearing a mask is certainly encouraged to do so,” said the district in a news release at the time.
