Puget Sound-area public transportation agencies drop mask mandate

SEATTLE — After a federal judge in Florida voided the national mask mandate covering airplanes and other public transportation Monday, masks will no longer be required by Puget Sound-area public transportation agencies.

The Transportation Security Administration said effective Monday, they would no longer enforce the mask requirement on public transportation and transportation hubs.

The agency added that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “continues to recommend that people wear masks in indoor public transportation settings at this time.”

On Monday night, Washington State Ferries announced that it dropped its mask requirement in terminals and on vessels.

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However, the mandate was still in place on some Seattle-area buses and trains Tuesday morning, including King County Metro, Kitsap Transit and Sound Transit.

That decision changed later Tuesday morning when Sound Transit sent out a joint news release saying face coverings were no longer required on transit or at transit facilities in the Puget Sound region.

The announcement includes:

• Community Transit
• Everett Transit
• King County Metro
• Kitsap Transit
• Pierce Transit
• Seattle Department of Transportation (Seattle Streetcar)
• Seattle Center Monorail
• Sound Transit

As for Amtrak, employees and passengers are no longer required to wear masks on trains or in stations, the company said on Twitter Tuesday morning.

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