Dallas Area Rapid Transit will continue requiring passengers and operators to wear face coverings following an announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear masks under most circumstances.

The federal Transportation Security Administration extended its face mask requirement last month for all transportation networks through Sept. 13. A DART news release stated the agency will continue to require “a CDC-approved face mask be worn over the mouth and nose by passengers and operators at all times” while on agency vehicles or properties.

“The federal mask requirement throughout the transportation system seeks to minimize the spread of COVID-19 on public transportation,” TSA senior official Darby LaJoye said in an April 30 statement. “Right now, about half of all adults have at least one vaccination shot, and masks remain an important tool in defeating this pandemic.”

DART offers face masks and hand sanitizer dispensers on all its buses, light-rail vehicles and Dallas streetcars, the agency’s news release stated.

Passengers refusing to wear a mask, unless exempted or excluded under CDC guidelines, are in violation of federal law, and failure to comply will result in denial of boarding or removal, according to the DART release. It also stated those passengers may be subject to federal penalties.


The agency’s free DART Say Something app or customer service phone number at 214-979-1111 can be used by passengers concerned with someone not wearing a mask.

DART also announced May 17 that it will follow a Sunday schedule May 31 in recognition of Memorial Day. The agency’s Trinity Railway Express will not operate on the holiday.