The MTA has already completed the installation of dispensers on 100 buses on six bus routes in three boroughs.
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Customers on the Bx12 SBS and Bx41 SBS routes in the Bronx, S53 Staten Island local route, and X63, X64 and X68 express routes in Queens can now easily access the free masks from dispensers mounted at the rear doors of the SBS and local buses, and at the front door of express buses.
The MTA plans to roll out the pilot across every borough on more than 20 routes and 400 buses by the end of August.
Related: Bus fares to resume in August as MTA unveils barriers to keep drivers safe
All customers and MTA employees are required to wear a mask while riding public transit.
"This is another important way we are coming up with solutions to ensure customers can conveniently obtain a mask if they have lost or forgotten their own when they board our buses," President of the MTA Bus Company and Senior Vice President of Buses for MTA New York City Transit Craig Cipriano said. "When you wear a face covering on public transit you're doing so out of respect for your fellow passengers and the health and safety of our bus operators. Plus it's the law."
Each plastic dispenser holds approximately 50 surgical masks, and the dispensers are off-the-shelf plastic containers with modifications made by New York City Transit.
Related: MTA calls for sweeping cuts, details $16 billion deficit through 2024
Each container is properly secured to the stanchions of the bus and will be refilled daily.
The announcement follows the launch of "Operation Respect," a new MTA initiative consisting of a "Mask Force" of hundreds of volunteers to distribute masks directly to customers throughout the subway, bus and commuter rail system.
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To further protect customers, the state of New York has provided the MTA with an additional million masks for distribution, on top of the previous two million masks that were donated by the State of New York and the City of New York earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic.
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