TriMet Will Require All Bus and Train Passengers to Wear Masks

The transit agency will begin installing paper mask dispensers on some buses and trains over the coming weeks.

MAX train cars like this one are sparsely populated this week. (Mick Hangland-Skill)
By Aaron Mesh

Want to ride a bus in Portland? Wear a face mask.

That's the rule issued by regional transit agency TriMet today, following new guidelines created by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown as the state slowly reemerges from two months of shutdown. TriMet's mask requirement for riders will go into effect Wednesday, May 20.

"Scarfs, bandanas and fabric masks are all OK, so long as they cover your nose and mouth," the agency said in a statement. "As we recently announced, all TriMet employees must wear face coverings too."

TriMet says it will begin installing paper mask dispensers on some buses and trains over the coming weeks. It will also install hand-sanitizer dispensers.

"These dispensers will not be on all vehicles immediately—with over 700 buses, 145 light rail cars and six WES train cars and hundreds of LIFT paratransit vehicles, it may take several weeks to get them installed," the agency said.

The new rules follow guidelines issued rapidly by Gov Brown over the past 72 hours, as she allows a gradual lifting of her stay-home orders issued March 23. The governor's rules require anyone riding public transit in Oregon to wear a mask, unless they have a health condition that makes breathing difficult with a face covering, have a disability that prevents donning a mask, or are a baby.

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