LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — There are several ongoing changes when it comes to the Regional Transportation System bus routes within Southern Nevada due to the current pandemic.
Everyone is required to wear a mask inside the buses, as part of those changes, but some point out that reality is far from it and making them worry about their health.
Scott Simon, a regular RTC bus rider for years, says he has noticed plenty of times how bus riders and drivers are not using a face covering.
"I probably witnessed maybe 5-6 bus drivers in the past five months actively tell somebody you cannot board without a mask," Simon said.
Now, he's considering buying a car, to avoid getting sick.
Transit is changing: RTC Fall 2020 service changes
Simon says he has done many reports to the RTC about the situation and received responses of possible exemptions, like a medical reason.
"I would tell them I was on this bus, passengers were not wearing masks, the bus driver was not wearing a mask, and now I'm getting boilerplate, cut and paste reply to me," said Simon.
Other riders, like Ruben Nicolas, said they have also seen these situations.
"That's the reason why I stopped riding the bus because I'm an athlete. I can't afford to get sick. It's usually the passengers and I kind of blame the driver for not enforcing the rule," Nicolas said.
RTC says that their security guards are enforcing the uses of masks at the transit stations, but the drivers don't have to and that service cannot be denied to passengers.
"We rather have the operators focus on safely operating the vehicle with the minimum number of people there. We also don't require them to enforce this particular requirement because we want them to avoid any confrontation with the customers," said Zac Prudhomme, RTC Public Affairs Administrator.
Prudhomme also mentioned that when RTC gets reports of a bus driver, they inform the contractors' companies who hired them about the situation. Those companies are Keolis Transit and MV Transportation.
