Sarasota County Area Transit sluggish on federal mask mandate
SARASOTA COUNTY – The Sarasota County Area Transit Agency is beginning to enforce the use of face masks on all of its buses, a little more than a week after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the order.
Sarasota County said it has moved as quickly as possible to implement the federal mandate, effective Feb. 1 and implemented locally on Wednesday.
But some drivers and passengers say the county has largely ignored public health safety measures throughout the pandemic and dragged its feet in taking action to require masks on its buses. These complaints were verified by the local union, which has gone back and forth with the county for months to require drivers and passengers to wear masks.