The D.C. Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced this afternoon that face masks are now optional for customers riding the Circulator bus and the Streetcar. The change follows a a federal judge’s ruling earlier this week that struck down the Center for Disease Control (CDC)’s masking requirements on public transportation. WMATA, which operates Metrorail and Metrobus in the region, made masking optional on Monday evening.

The Florida judge, a Trump appointee, ruled that the CDC was acting unlawfully by requiring masks on planes, trains, buses and other forms of public transportation. Her decision came the week after the CDC decided to extend the requirement, originally set to expire on April 18, into May. The extension was in response to growing cases, largely attributed to the spread of the BA.2 variant. The Justice Department says it is appealing the ruling.

In addition to Metro, other regional public transportation services have also announced that masking is now optional, including Montgomery County’s Ride On buses and Alexandria’s King Street Trolley and DASH buses. Private transportation companies that operate in the region, including airlines and ride sharing services, also quickly rescinded mask requirements.

Some public leaders, public health experts and local residents are expressing dismay about the judge’s ruling and subsequent changes in masking rules on transportation.

So if @wmata stops mandating masks, I can’t safely go on trains and buses anymore. Which leaves either MetroAccess, which effectively means a doctor’s trip is my whole day

Or I have to rely on friends to go anywhere again. And physically suffer without my powerchair.

— Noor (he/him) 🧜🏽📿 (@SnoringDoggo) April 18, 2022

“This is a bad decision by a Trump judge, who has no expertise in public health, to over-rule our nation’s public health experts,” Montgomery County Executive Marc Ehlrich said in a statement announcing his county’s new policy. “As we join the region and comply with this legal decision, we are going to continue to monitor our transmission rates and legal options regarding masking. We highly encourage all residents to wear masks on our buses, as well as in crowded indoor areas.”

The ruling does not directly require local governments to rescind masking requirements. But in the statement, Montgomery County wrote that it is no longer requiring masks on buses in order “to provide passengers and operators with consistency with WMATA (Metro) and other regional transportation systems.”

The CDC is continuing to recommend that people wear masks on public transportation, writing in a statement that it believes “at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health.” Some public transportation systems in other cities, including New York City,  have chosen to keep mask requirements in place.