Commuter groups call on Metro-North to ticket unmasked riders

Connecticut Transportation Commissioner Joe Giuletti says he thinks crews are doing the best they can with the situation and that writing tickets is not the crews’ job.

News 12 Staff

Aug 9, 2021, 9:42 PM

Updated 1,151 days ago

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Masks are required on Metro-North trains, but not a single ticket has been given out since 2020, according to the Connecticut Examiner.
Two commuter rail groups are now calling on Gov. Ned Lamont to “direct the Department of Transportation and Metro-North to enforce federal and state regulations.”
Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi says they are seeing around 91% of mask compliance and that the problem is overstated, but she admits that some incidents do happen.
“If somebody is confrontational, if they refuse to pull up their mask, we will and have called law enforcement,” Rinaldi says.
Commuter groups say there aren’t enough MTA officers, and they want conductors to write tickets. Metro-North’s president says they have added police on some trains, especially on those leaving Yankee Stadium after games.
Connecticut Transportation Commissioner Joe Giuletti says he thinks crews are doing the best they can with the situation and that writing tickets is not the crews’ job.
“When the crews have seen people stepping onto a car, they say, ‘Do you have a mask?’ and if they don’t, they hand them a mask,” Giuletti says.
Travelers like New Canaan resident Sarah Patterson wears a mask, but says she is not concerned when others don’t.
“…I’m comfortable with whatever people want to do,” Patterson says. “If they want to wear a mask or not, I’m OK with that.”
Tickets for not wearing a mask come with a $100 fine in Connecticut and a $50 fine in New York.