As Detroit bus riders hop on board public buses, they will have access to free surgical masks.
Masks will be available on every Detroit Department of Transportation bus at no cost, while supplies last, Detroit officials announced. Riders will only be allowed to take one mask per person.
Mayor Mike Duggan worked with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to secure 20,000 masks in an effort to protect both drivers and passengers who rely on the bus system to get to and from essential jobs.
“We have to care for and protect our neighbors. One of my biggest issues is the buses and we are taking this measure to protect both the drivers and those who ride the bus,” Duggan said.
The City of Detroit tweeted to refrain from taking a mask if you already have one.
The decision to supply masks to riders comes after Detroit bus driver Jason Hargrove died from coronavirus. The bus driver posted a video complaining about a passenger who he said refused to cover her mouth while coughing. He died from coronavirus two weeks after he posted the video on Facebook live on March 21 saying he felt violated.
“We out here as public workers doing our job, trying to make an honest living to take care of our families. But for you to get on the bus and stand on the bus and cough several times without covering up your mouth and you know that we in the middle of a pandemic, that lets me know that some folks don't care," he said in the video.
The masks will be fastened to the back of the bus via a dispenser as riders enter. There will be no contact required to retrieve a mask.
Mayor Duggan already implemented precautions including: allowing entry and exit from the rear bus door only, eliminating bus fares, prohibiting seating immediately behind the driver, providing drivers with masks, gloves and sanitary wipes and cleaning the bus at the beginning and end of the line each time the bus completes a trip.
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