Rideshare drivers, passengers react to lifted mask mandate amid festival season
Festival season is still in full swing in the desert with Coachella Weekend Two kicking off in just a few days.
And this time around, festival goers can ditch the masks when taking an Uber or Lyft.
“I think it’s good, I think pretty much everyone is vaccinated and at the festival there’s not mask mandate so I think it fits that pretty well,” said passenger Charley Baker.
This week, the rideshare companies announced face coverings would be optional for drivers and riders shortly after several major airlines announced a similar change in policy.
“The CDC order requiring masks while using rideshare platforms such as Uber is no longer in effect, and we’ve revised our COVID-19 mask and front-seat policies accordingly,” Uber wrote in emails to users on Tuesday.
Uber will no longer require riders to sit in the back seats of vehicles, but asked riders to refrain from using the front seats unless they are traveling as part of a large group. Lyft passengers are also again permitted to sit in front seats, the company said in a blog post. Lyft also removed the option to cancel a ride, if a driver is maskless.
However, face coverings are still recommended by both companies.
“We’ve still been wearing our masks, uhm, on the plans we did today. I guess I don’t really have any feelings about it, whatever people want to do. So, we’ll probably still wear ours,” said passenger Jade Debovr.
Ross Tubbs, whose been driver for Uber since January 2020, said he’ll do what his passengers do. “With all the people coming in from out of country, I had a little hesitation but I also I kind of read the rider. If they look like they’re healthy and aren’t gonna have a problem, fine we’ll go without a mask. If they look like they’re coughing then hey please put a mask on.”
While another driver, Monica Kistler, said she believes the requirement was lifted too soon especially with more big events returning to the Valley. “I enforce it in my vehicle. I handed out probably 40-50 masks so it was a bit of a challenge especially when they’re coming in from other states where it’s looser.”
Kistler believes as independent contractors, drivers should be able to decide on whether or not masks be worn in their cars. “I don’t have time to get sick, I’ve heard nurses have to take 3 weeks off of work. Who’s going to pay my bills, is Uber going to pay us sick pay if we do get Covid?”
And with Coachella Weekend Two right around the corner, she’s staying prepared.
“I do have the plexiglass in the car, I have sprayed Lysol in the car after every ride for 2 years. So far, I’ve dodged the covid bullet happy to say," Kistler added, "We’re not done with this.”
The Justice Department is filing an appeal seeking to overturn a judge’s order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes, trains and travel hubs, officials said Wednesday.
It came minutes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked the Justice Department to appeal the decision handed down by a federal judge in Florida earlier this week.
A notice of appeal was filed in federal court in Tampa.
