Should SEPTA, NJ Transit trains have mask-only cars? | Pro/Con

As COVID-19 cases rise once again, this time in the absence of indoor-masking rules, some people are getting nervous. In New Jersey, one commuter has started a petition to create “mask-only” train cars.

Just like the quiet car, mask-only cars would require travelers to wear masks while in that car, giving riders who prefer no mask the choice of any other car.

But after enduring years of assaults over masking rules, train conductors say they don’t have the staff or energy to keep fighting riders over masks.

We asked a commuter and conductor to weigh in: Should SEPTA and NJ Transit trains have mask-only cars?

By Adam Reich

We are still in a pandemic. From early April to early May, COVID-19 case numbers in New Jersey increased by 142%. Cases in Pennsylvania have increased more than 300% in the last 14 days. And many of us who are worried about getting sick don’t have the option of staying home.

I take NJ Transit trains every day to get to and from work, and many transit riders are like me: at high risk of complications from COVID and/or sharing a household with others at high risk. Someone in my immediate circle has been dealing with long COVID, and I don’t want to infect them again, which could set back their recovery.

» READ MORE: The State of the Pandemic

Riders may be senior citizens, immunocompromised, or have other underlying issues that make them more susceptible to serious illness. They may also live with children under age 5 who are not yet eligible for COVID vaccinations. We don’t all have the option of “just driving instead.”

We need to give those who depend on public transit the ability to protect themselves.

“We need to give those who depend on public transit the ability to protect themselves.”

NJ Transit and SEPTA should offer at least one designated “mask car” on each train to give masked riders the choice of being where they can be assured that everyone surrounding them will also be masked. Without this, we are undercutting the protective value of masking.

Everyone in a mask-only train car would have to wear a proper face covering over their mouths and noses throughout their trip. A model for the concept — where riders must abide by certain rules or move to another car — already exists, in the form of quiet cars on NJ Transit and SEPTA.

NJ Transit and SEPTA owe it to their riders to at least try a pilot program. The agencies could test the pilot on a select few trains, and adjust and reevaluate as needed before a wider rollout.

I’m not the only rider who wants this. More than 600 people have signed my petition to get a mask-only train car on NJ Transit.

I know that a mask-only train car would require some enforcement, and transportation staff already face a host of challenges. But I do not believe enforcement will be a significant issue, because those who do not wish to mask will have the majority of train cars available to them.

And it won’t be only up to train crews to enforce the mandates: Trains can run recorded announcements over the public address system about the consequences for noncompliance, and transit police can respond to calls about noncompliant passengers, perhaps meeting the train at the next station or the passenger’s destination, or sometimes riding trains to help enforce the program. SEPTA or NJ Transit can seek funds or grants to offer additional compensation to crew members assigned to mask-only cars, given the extra responsibility.

Even if the agencies can’t ensure perfect enforcement, a mask-only car with 80% compliance would still offer a meaningful reduction of risk on NJ Transit and SEPTA trains.

NJ Transit’s leadership has expressed concerns about “equity” — namely, it’s not fair to offer a mask-only train car when you can’t do the same for buses. Then why offer quiet cars on trains when an equivalent isn’t possible on buses?

I’m tired of feeling worried I might contract COVID from the train, and I know many other riders feel this way, too. A mask-only car is an easy solution that would put a lot of commuters’ minds at ease.

Adam Reich is a lawyer. He lives in Central Jersey and rides NJ Transit trains every weekday.

By Jerome C. Johnson

The pandemic hasn’t been easy on anyone — including train conductors.

We understand how frustrating it has been to navigate the inconsistent messaging from different agencies about masking, and why many people want to have the freedom to choose whether or not to wear a mask on public transportation.

But we don’t understand why people have been taking their anger and frustrations out on us.

Train conductors and assistant conductors have to follow the rules and regulations set forth by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the TSA, NJ Transit Rail, and the state of New Jersey. It’s not our opinion; we are just enforcing someone else’s rules.

And yet throughout the pandemic, conductors have been treated like everyone’s punching bag. Riders have literally punched us, or spat on us, or called us horrible names based on race, gender, sexual preference, and religion.

“Throughout the pandemic, conductors have been treated like everyone’s punching bag.”

Assaults on conductors reached an all-time high in 2021, close behind 2020. Many of these assaults occurred because passengers objected to wearing a mask.

Conductors have had to deal with so much already trying to enforce mask mandates. Designating a mask-only train car would create another reason to fight over masks on public transportation, and we don’t have the staff or the energy to enforce additional rules.

Throughout the pandemic, we followed a protocol: We made on-board announcements at every station stop on NJ Transit, reminding passengers of mandates when they were in place. When we encountered a passenger not wearing a mask, we could remind them of the policy. If the passenger refused, we called the NJ Transit Police Department. But that department was spread thin before the pandemic, and it struggled to answer daily assault calls from trains and buses.

Even when they could come to assist us when a passenger wouldn’t wear a mask, once the officer stepped off of the train, the passenger would simply remove their mask. Do we call the police again and delay the train? Do we take action and risk getting assaulted or called names?

I understand that restricting masking rules to one car would contain the boundaries of the mask arguments, but those arguments would still occur. What does a conductor or assistant conductor do when someone sits in the mask-only car, but refuses to wear a mask and won’t move, either?

It’s not fair to ask us to be riders’ punching bags again, especially since research shows that people in masks are still getting protection against COVID-19, even if no one around them is wearing one. (A well-fitted N95, KN95, or KF94 seems to work best.)

» READ MORE: Reports of aggravated assault and robbery on SEPTA soared during the pandemic as ridership fell

Think, too, about logistics. What portion of the train would be mask-only? It can’t be the first or last cars, which are designated quiet cars. On any other car, passengers not wearing masks would have to walk through the mask-only car to get to one where masks are optional. And would the mask-only car have to have a bathroom?

Finally, there is a question of equity. We can’t implement a mask-only portion of public buses. People who take the bus often don’t have the option of other forms of transportation, so it doesn’t seem right to give extra protection to train riders that we can’t also offer to bus riders.

Given that mask-only train cars would offer only marginal protection, it’s not fair to ask train conductors to keep taking abuse over mask rules on trains. We are tired.

Jerome C. Johnson is the general chairman and president of SMART-TD Local 60, which represents conductors on New Jersey Transit.