By Samuel Blatchford
Capital News Service
Bus riders in Michigan are accustomed to what a new federal mandate requires: that all passengers on public transit wear a mask.
Clark Harder, the executive director of the Michigan Public Transit Authority, said transit agencies have been following the state’s mask mandate since ordered by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in July.
A new federal executive order from President Joe Biden, that was effective Feb. 1, doesn’t change anything for them, he said.
Rural and nonmetropolitan transit agencies have followed the protocols to keep bus drivers and passengers safe in Michigan, Harder said.
COVID-19 safety protocols are different for each system, aside from the mask mandate. For example, some use sneeze guards and shower curtains to limit the spread of the coronavirus.