Author: trinitymetro

Trinity Metro enforces federal face mask order

Trinity Metro’s long-held policy requiring riders to wear face coverings when riding in its vehicles and when within its facilities now has federal support due to the new executive order signed by President Biden requiring mask-wearing on public transportation.

The CDC issued this order late on Jan. 29, 2021, requiring the public to wear face masks while riding public transportation and while in transportation hubs and facilities. The order defines a mask as material covering the wearer’s nose and mouth and excludes face shields.

The CDC mask order went into effect at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 1. Mask-wearing is one of several proven, science-based measures that can reduce the spread and transmission of COVID-19. Wearing face masks on public transit is a lifesaving measure that Trinity Metro wholeheartedly supports, and this guidance reflects the shared responsibility of transit systems and riders to take appropriate actions to get through this pandemic.

All persons on board Trinity Metro vehicles are required to wear a mask for their travel duration.

Trinity Metro operators will now:

• Continue to encourage all riders to wear a face covering;
• Instruct persons that federal law requires wearing a mask on the vehicle and failure to comply constitutes a violation of federal law;
• Monitor persons onboard the vehicle for anyone who is not wearing a mask and seek compliance from such persons; and
• At the earliest opportunity, contact a Trinity Metro supervisor or security officer to address the customer.

Similarly, at facilities and within transit stations and hubs, Trinity Metro personnel will:

• Continue to encourage all visitors to wear a face covering;
• Instruct persons that federal law requires wearing a mask in the transportation hub and failure to comply constitutes a violation of federal law;
• Monitor persons on the premises of Trinity Metro’s facilities and vehicles. Anyone who is not wearing a mask will be asked to put one on or exit the transit agency’s property;
• At the earliest opportunity, contact a Trinity Metro supervisor or security officer to address the customer. 

Trinity Metro strongly supports and will enforce the new CDC guidance requiring mask-wearing on public transportation. The agency remains committed to delivering its riders safely to their destination.

With great sadness, Trinity Metro delivers the heartbreaking news of the death of our former Board Member, community leader and friend, Dr. Dennis Dunkins. On behalf of all of Trinity Metro, we send our most heartfelt condolences and sympathy to his family.

Dr. Dunkins served on the Trinity Metro Board of Directors for many years representing city council district 5. He was appointed on Feb. 6, 2013 and remained on the board through September 2020. His service to Trinity Metro included participation on the Commuter Rail Committee from 2014-2020 during which he led the committee as the chairman in 2017. He was also the Board of Directors Secretary from 2017-2019, served as the ACCESS Committee Chair and had been active on the Scholarship Committee, TRE Advisory Committee, Rail Working Group, and the Planning, Operations and Marketing Committee.

Dr. Dunkins will be deeply missed. During his time on the Board, Trinity Metro saw tremendous growth and change including a major commuter rail project with the construction and opening of TEXRail in January 2019. He was instrumental in the development of fixed bus route 28/Mansfield Hwy and he proudly promoted Trinity Railway Express (TRE). His love for transit was contagious and he was passionate about the quality of Trinity Metro’s services, continually advocating for positive customer experiences. He loved riding trains, particularly TRE and truly did use public transportation in his day-to-day life. He always had a smile for everyone and was highly regarded by those who had the opportunity to meet him.

This is truly a great loss to Trinity Metro and the surrounding community as a whole. He will be profoundly missed by everyone whose lives he touched.

Being outside and getting some fresh air are great ways to enjoy the summer. If you’re looking for an easy way to be outdoors and volunteer in your community, consider “adopting” a bus stop. Volunteers help keep Fort Worth clean and beautiful while enhancing the public transit experience.

Trinity Metro’s Adopt a Stop program encourages volunteers to select a stop to clean and maintain by removing any trash and trimming grass or weeds around the stop. Prospective volunteers fill out an application. After processing Trinity Metro will provide a starter kit that includes safety vests, trash bags and gloves. Volunteers will also have their name posted on a sign at their stop, plus a welcome kit and a shout out on social media.

For more information, call 817-215-8600 or email adoptastop@ridetm.org.

Updated Feb. 23, 2021

The Tarrant County face mask ordinance has been extended by the Tarrant County Commissioners Court through May 31, 2021. 

Updated Nov. 25

Tarrant County face mask ordinance from 6 p.m. June 26 through Feb. 28, 2021 issued amid rise in COVID-19 cases.

Trinity Metro’s response

The safety of our employees, customers and community is top priority. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, precautions have been implemented to safeguard the health of everyone. This includes enhanced cleaning protocols encompassing increased frequency of disinfecting high-touch areas on vehicles and across facilities, reducing vehicle capacity to promote social distancing, and by installing transparent barriers on board fixed route vehicles to separate bus operators from customers who are boarding and paying fares. Trinity Metro will require all employees and customers to wear face masks, covering their nose and mouth, to help prevent the spread of coronavirus, beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, June 26.

Trinity Metro’s Health and Safety Policy

• All employees must wear a face mask, either cloth or disposable, at all times while on company property or in a company vehicle when more than one person is either in the same room or in the same vehicle.
• All employees must wear a face mask when in a facility’s common areas such as hallways and break rooms where it may be possible to encounter others.
• Failure to comply with this policy by Trinity Metro employees will lead to disciplinary action.
• All Trinity Metro customers must also comply by wearing face masks when traveling on board vehicles including fixed route buses, Trinity Metro TEXRail, Trinity Metro ACCESS, Trinity Metro ZIPZONE, and while on Trinity Metro property.
• Failure to comply with this policy by Trinity Metro customers will lead to refusal of services and/or communication with security or law enforcement officers.
• For both employees and customers the requirement of a face covering does not apply if covering the nose and mouth poses a significant mental or physical health risk to the individual.
• The requirement of a face covering also does not apply when an individual is consuming a food or beverage or receiving a service where the wearing of a mask would impair the performance on the service.
• Trinity Metro employees and customers should also continue to practice social distancing.
  • Employees should not work within six (6) feet of one another, except to the extent necessary to provide services.
  • Customers should maintain six (6) feet of separation from other individuals outside their household. This includes while on Trinity Metro property or on board Trinity Metro vehicles.  

Availability of face masks

Trinity Metro customers in need of face masks should see the customer care representatives at the ticket sales kiosk at Fort Worth Central Station. Trinity Metro ENVOY and operations staff will also be available throughout the system for those in need of face masks.

(FORT WORTH, TX – April 24, 2020) – To help reduce the COVID-19 risk for customers and employees, Trinity Metro is extending free fares through Saturday, May 16, on buses, Trinity Metro TEXRail and ACCESS paratransit. This is intended to significantly minimize the amount of contact between operators and customers as well as conductors and riders. 

Regular bus service will continue to operate on a modified Sunday schedule seven days a week. Routes that do not operate on Sunday, such as the downtown Lunch Line, 71-Forest Hill and the 991-Juror Shuttle, have been temporarily suspended. The downtown circulator, Molly the Trolley, is not operating through May 31. Express routes 63X/64X and 65X will continue operating on their regular schedules. 

Trinity Metro TEXRail is running on an hourly service, which is based upon the regular schedule, seven days a week. Trinity Railway Express (TRE) is operating six days a week based upon its current Saturday schedule, with no service on Sundays.

ACCESS rides will be available for paratransit customers. ZIPZONE services are not impacted by this temporary change. 

 

Social distancing with free fares

On trains, passengers will sit in alternating rows and only in the window seats to maximize the amount of space between customers and between the conductors and riders. Signs or caution tape will be used to designate unavailable seats.

On buses, passengers will continue to board and exit through the back doors to increase social distancing. The front entrance is open for customers using wheelchairs.  On the busiest routes, extra operators are ready to pick up passengers in a second bus to limit the number of riders per vehicle. Trinity Metro has reduced seating capacity to 35 percent. The agency will be posting signage on platforms to reinforce appropriate distancing for customers waiting for rides.

Because TRE is a shared service with DART, TRE passengers will need a ticket to ride.

 

How Trinity Metro is helping

Safeguarding the health and well-being of passengers and employees is Trinity Metro’s top priority. The agency is closely monitoring the rapidly changing

situation and is communicating with local, state and national health authorities to reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure.

Trinity Metro continues to take extra steps to increase the cleaning frequency of high-touch areas such as door handles, railings, seats and benches with disinfectant throughout each shift. Buses, vans and ACCESS vehicles are sanitized daily. Trinity Metro TEXRail trains are disinfected daily after they have been in service.

Operators, conductors and other staff who interact with the public are using face masks, gloves and hand sanitizer to help safeguard customers and employees.

 

About Trinity Metro

Trinity Metro is a regional transportation system that provides public transportation to meet the mobility needs in Tarrant County. The agency offers connections throughout the North Central Texas region, annually providing 8 million passenger trips on buses, TEXRail, ACCESS paratransit, vanpools and the Trinity Railway Express (TRE), a 34-mile commuter rail line jointly owned and operated with Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). Trinity Metro is the sole owner and operator of TEXRail, a 27-mile commuter rail line that runs between downtown Fort Worth and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport’s Terminal B.