NJ Transit riders required to wear masks during coronavirus pandemic, MTA still ‘recommending’ them

The Oculus transportation hub and the PATH Trains entrance in Lower Manhattan is pictured in this file photo during the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s no mask, no ride on NJ Transit’s trains and buses while the state remains on coronavirus lockdown.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Saturday issued an executive order requiring all transit riders to wear protective face coverings or else be denied service.

The requirement also applies to all NJ Transit personnel, but children under the age of 3 and people who say they cannot wear a mask due to a medical condition are exempt.

Murphy’s executive order goes further than face-wear, requiring NJ Transit and private transportation services to carry no more than 50% of their usual capacity and to supply their workers with gloves and face coverings.

The mask mandate is the first of its kind among transit agencies in the tri-state area, and comes four days after NJ Transit reported the first COVID-19 death among its employees.

“Our bus, train, light rail and Access Link paratransit service is vital to ensuring essential personnel can continue to get to their jobs and back home again, and Gov. Murphy’s executive order strengthens the tools we have to do this as safely as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic," said NJ Transit president Kevin Corbett.

As of Sunday, Gov. Cuomo had not yet issued an executive order requiring riders on New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, but transit officials on April 2 recommended that all riders wear face masks.

At least 50 MTA employees have died from COVID-19, and early fatality data shows that the disease has killed New York City transit workers at a much higher rate than other front-line professionals.

“We continue to urge anyone who is not an essential worker and does not absolutely need to take mass transit to stay home," said MTA spokesman Ken Lovett. “We recommend in the strongest terms that anyone traveling with us wear a mask or face covering to protect themselves, their fellow commuters and our heroic employees.”

An MTA source said agency leaders have looked closely at requiring riders to wear masks and remain open to the idea, but have concerns about their ability to enforce the mandate.