On January 29, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order requiring travelers to wear masks to deter the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. All people must wear masks when boarding, disembarking, and for the duration of travel, with some exceptions as explained in the Questions below. “Conveyance” is defined as “aircraft, train, road vehicle (including rideshares), vessel…or other means of transport, including military transport,” according to the Order of the Code of Federal Regulations. All people entering or on the grounds of a transportation hub must wear a mask, according to transportation hub operators.
Any airport, bus terminal, marina, seaport, or other port, subway station, terminal, train station, U.S. port of entry, or any other location that offers transportation is referred to as a “transportation hub.” More information about this order can be found on the CDC’s website, which also includes a list of frequently asked questions about the mask requirement.
In support of the CDC Order, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has released an emergency amendment and three security directives. You should find them here. Owners and operators of ground transportation are directly affected. The remaining three are all related to aviation. Visit the TSA’s COVID-19 hub or COVID-19 FAQs for more information on the agency’s COVID-19 prevention activities.
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) has assembled a list of questions and answers to help ground transportation operators in implementing the Order and Directive and will continue to update it as new information becomes available. In collaboration with the CDC and other federal agencies, the USDOT will continue to engage stakeholders.