Thank you for wearing a mask! Mask usage among bus and shuttle passengers increased to 88% during the week of Nov. 23.

Our mask counters observed the following usage among bus and shuttle passengers in recent weeks:

  • 88% – Week of Nov. 23., 2020
  • 85% – Week of Nov. 16, 2020
  • 83% – Week of Nov. 9, 2020
  • 84% – Week of Nov. 2, 2020

More mask dispensers installed

Metro is currently installing mask dispensers on another 200 buses. In total, Metro will have installed dispensers on more than 340 buses by Dec. 14.

These routes include the RapidRide A, B, D, E, and F lines, and the 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 36, 43, 44, 49, 70, and 120.

These routes were prioritized for mask dispenser installation based on ridership, crowding concerns, and operator reports of mask non-compliance.

Please wear a mask!

As we shared previously in the “Our plea to riders: Wear a mask!” blog post:

“Masks are especially important because a significant number of people are COVID-19 positive but don’t have symptoms. Masks protect people from both symptomatic and asymptomatic transmission of COVID-19. Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that not only does wearing a mask protect others, it protects you, too. In their words, ‘Masks also help reduce inhalation of these droplets by the wearer.’”

Learn how to keep yourself, your fellow riders, and Metro’s employees safe at kingcounty.gov/HealthierMetro

 

Methodology for observed mask usage among bus and shuttle passengers: Metro measures customer mask use across the system by choosing a randomized sample of trips to observe. For each observation, we take a point-in-time measurement of the total number of passengers on a vehicle and the number of passengers who are wearing masks. The measure is taken at each trip’s peak load point (the bus stop at which the highest number of passengers are typically onboard). Due to the time it takes us to make observations, we sample only a small portion of the system each week.