Starting today, masks or face coverings are mandatory for riders travelling on the TTC, with the exception of children under two years of age, people with underlying medical conditions, which prevent them from wearing a mask or those unable to place or remove a mask without assistance, as well as TTC employees and agents within an area designated for TTC personnel and not for public access.
The new measures aim to help curb the spread of COVID-19 as more people begin to ride public transit as Phase 2 of reopening continues.
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Spokesperson Stuart Green tells our media partner CP24 that the TTC will not be strictly enforcing the new mask rule, "For the short term and medium term, we won’t be doing strict enforcement. Really we just want people to get that message...Nobody will be refused a ride. There are reasons why people can’t wear a face covering and we appreciate that," Green said.
And Green is urging people not to "police" those who cannot wear one: "We also ask people to respect the people who cannot wear face coverings. It's not really up to people to police others. They can police themselves, but please don't police others. There are probably reasons why people aren't wearing masks. For those that are entering stations without masks or on the bus network, we will be handing out masks. We've got a million masks to giveaway."
The TTC also resumes all-door boarding on buses today, as well as accepting cash, ticket and token payment options again.
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Meantime, on Tuesday, Toronto City Council approved a bylaw that will make face coverings mandatory in all indoor public spaces, including shopping malls, grocery stores, retail stores, convenience stores, places of worship, indoor recreational facilities, among others.
That bylaw will take effect July 7th.