Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Mandatory mask rules start today on B.C. Ferries, B.C. Transit

As of Monday, masks or face coverings will be required for passengers on both B.C. Ferries and B.C. Transit. B.C.
TC_11462_web_VKA-masks-5092.jpg
Commuters board a B.C. Transit bus along Fort Street on Friday. Masks will be mandatory on buses starting Monday, Aug. 24. ADRIAN LAM, TIMES COLONIST

As of Monday, masks or face coverings will be required for passengers on both B.C. Ferries and B.C. Transit.

B.C. Ferries is ramping up its COVID-19 requirements, which have so far only required passengers to wear masks if they were within two metres of another person.

Under the new rules, all passengers must wear masks or face coverings at terminals and while on board vessels.

Anyone not complying with the rules can be banned from travel, said Mark Collins, B.C. Ferries president and chief executive, on Friday.

“B.C. Ferries’ priority is the health and safety of our employees and customers,” he said. “We urge and expect our customers to behave responsibly when they are travelling with us.”

Face coverings are not required inside vehicles or while consuming food or beverages, provided people are maintaining physical distance.

Others exemptions include anyone with an underlying medical condition or disability that inhibits their ability to wear a mask, those who are unable to put a mask on or take it off without help, and children younger than two years old.

The rules covers B.C. Ferries workers as well, with the exception of those who work behind physical barriers or who are in employee-only areas.

On B.C. Transit, the new rules are more about education than enforcement.

“If somebody gets onto the bus and is not wearing a face covering, we are making the assumption that they meet one of our exemption criteria,” spokesman Jonathon Dyck said.

Children under five and people who can’t wear a face covering for health reasons will be among those who are exempt.

Similar education-based policies have been brought in by other transit systems, Dyck said.

“We’re following their lead,” he said. “They saw success with it, implementing it in this manner. We’re hoping that we’ll see the same success here in B.C. Transit communities.”

Bus riders are expected to provide their own face coverings. Transit drivers do not have to wear a face covering if they are behind a barrier.

Dyck said customers have been asking for a face-covering regulation, and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has said it is something that should be considered.

“We want to make the bus as comfortable a place as possible for people.”