OC Transpo to hold one-day mask blitz on Wednesday

A woman wears a face mask and gloves while riding public transit.

OTTAWA — OC Transpo says it will be holding a one-day blitz to reinforce mandatory mask policies on public Transit this Wednesday.

Masks have been mandatory on OC Transpo since June 15, 2020. Last fall, OC Transpo held a two-week blitz to remind customers about the rules. During the first "Operation Mask Up" blitz, 10 tickets were handed out and two dozen customers were denied boarding for refusing to wear masks.

In a memo to city council on Monday, Transportation Services General Manager John Manconi said customers have been wearing masks far more regularly since the first blitz, with just two fines handed out since then.

Manconi said the new one-day blitz would serve to remind customers of the rules.

"The purpose of running an additional one-day blitz is to reinforce the importance of wearing a mask while taking transit," Manconi wrote. "OC Transpo Special Constables will issue fines of $260 under the Transit By-Law to those customers not wearing a mask. They will also reinforce how to properly wear a mask and will provide customers with a disposable mask if they do not have their own mask."

Customers with valid reasons not to wear masks, such as small children or anyone with a medical exemption, will not be fined; however, customers who refuse to wear a mask and do not have any exemptions will not be permitted to enter the transit system.

Last Wednesday, city council voted to extend the mandatory mask bylaw until the end of April. Council reviews the bylaw roughly every two months and can vote to extend it further.