WILDER — Public transportation providers that operate in the Upper Valley have dropped their face mask requirements.
The decisions by Advance Transit and Dartmouth Coach, among others, follow a Monday ruling by a federal judge that struck down a CDC mandate requiring all people who use public transportation to wear masks.
“What we do consistently is we share the federal guidance; we don’t create our own,” said Van Chestnut, director of Advance Transit. The nonprofit organization posted an announcement from the TSA noting the change to its website Tuesday.
Dartmouth Coach, which has locations in Lebanon and New London, also posted an announcement Tuesday rescinding its mask mandate for its buses and transportation facilities.
Cape Air, a commercial airline that operates out of Lebanon Municipal Airport, did so as well.
“While face (masks) are no longer required, we will support our customers who choose to wear one,” the Hyannis, Mass.-based airline wrote in a statement published to its website Tuesday.
Bruce Lyskawa, president of school bus operator Butler’s Bus Service, said the company and its drivers follow the mask policies created by the superintendents of the districts they serve in the Twin States.
“We just go along with what the big boss says we do,” he said, adding that the company supports drivers who choose to wear masks. “I think it’s a personal decision on that level.”
Masks became optional for Lebanon students taking the bus to school on March 14, said Joanne Roberts, superintendent of SAU 88. That decision came after an announcement from New Hampshire’s Department of Education. On Feb. 25, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed masking requirements for public and private school district buses or vans.
After the ruling was handed down this week, the Biden administration said the Justice Department would appeal if the CDC requested. On Wednesday afternoon, the CDC did just that, setting the stage for a potential temporary injunction or reversal restoring the mask mandate.
If that happens, Chestnut said Advance Transit is ready, stocked with two months’ worth of masks in case the mandate is reinstated.
“If and when the ruling comes down a different way, we’ll comply with it just like we have done all along,” he said.
The ruling is, in some ways, a relief, he added.
“It is very difficult to drive for hours while wearing a mask, and our drivers, bless their hearts, they’ve been doing this for two years. And I know how upset some of the passengers get,” Chestnut said. “For drivers everywhere, this is the biggest relief that they’re not in the position of having to get people safely from point A to B and not have to play police at the same time.”
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
