County health orders in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, and San Mateo now require all riders to wear face coverings inside BART stations and on-board trains. The orders also require BART to take reasonable measures to remind the public that they need facing coverings and “must take all reasonable steps to prohibit any member of the public who is not wearing a face covering from entering and must not serve that person if those efforts are unsuccessful and seek to remove that person.” Failure to comply with the emergency health order is a misdemeanor. Enforcement begins Wednesday, April 22, 2020. Prior to the order, most BART riders were already wearing face coverings while riding. BART will take the following steps to be compliant with the new orders.

Public Communication

Signs with pictograms will be posted in all stations stating: Face coverings required. Please keep 6 ft apart. Non-medical masks, bandanas, scarves, and cloth can be used.

PA announcements inside stations and on-board trains

Platform digital sign messages

Website updates and social media posts

BART Police Deployment and Enforcement Strategies

BART Police Chief Ed Alvarez recently shifted deployment to focus police resources to the entrances of stations and near the faregates. This strategy was put into place to improve safety for our employees and riders and to prevent illegal behavior from occurring. Continuing this deployment will help BART enforce the new orders.

BART Police will be responsible for reminding riders of the new requirement. Consistent with BART’s current operating procedures, Station Agents will not be used to enforce the new public health emergency orders as they are not trained law enforcement personnel.

BART Police will give verbal reminders of the requirement to riders without face coverings when police encounter someone not covering their mouth and nose. Police personnel will remind the rider they have the option to use any material to cover their face. Only upon refusal to cover their face with any material will an officer ask the person to leave the system.

Riders should not confront others without a face covering. If someone isn’t wearing a face covering, riders should move away from the individual.

CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings that can be fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials. The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.

The impact of these orders on BART employees and contractors include:

Employees and contractors must wear mask/ coverings when: in any BART facility in any BART parking lot or garage in any train (in or out of service) in any District vehicle with others

Masks/ coverings are not required but must be readily available (around neck or in pocket) and can be quickly put on if someone enters the room or workspace in these situations: in nonpublic office alone in a breakroom alone on the right of way, including yards and local control, where social distancing is observed (six-foot separation)



The new order does not replace the counties’ stay-at-home health order or the need to maintain physical distancing, wash hands frequently and cover coughs and sneezes – all fundamental to reducing the spread of COVID-19.

The District has distributed N95 and surgical masks to certain specified employees and will distribute surgical or cloth masks to all employees as required to comply with the health order. Any employee who would prefer to wear their own face covering is welcome to do so.

마스크 착용 필수.

6 ft 이상 간격을 유지하세요.

비의료용 마스크, 반다나, 스카프, 천을 사용해도 됩니다.

Se requiere llevar la cara cubierta.

Por favor, mantenga una distancia de 6 pies.

Se pueden usar mascarillas no médicas, pañuelos, bufandas y tela.

Kailangan na may mga pantakip sa mukha.

Maglayo-layo sa agwat na 6 talampakan.

Puwedeng gumamit ng mga non-medical mask, bandana, panyuwelo (scarf), at piraso ng tela.

Cần phải che mặt.

Xin vui lòng giữ khoảng cách 6ft.

Có thể dùng các loại khẩu trang không dành cho y tế, khăn bandana, các loại khăn quàng, và miếng vải.

須戴上臉罩。

請保持 6 英尺的距離。

可以使用非醫用口罩、頭巾、圍巾和布塊。