Dusseldorf.
In local transport, the mask requirement falls on February 1st. Since its introduction in 2020, there have been more than 462,110 deliberate violations of this obligation.
The corona mask requirement in buses and trains has mostly been complied with since its introduction in 2020. But there were always protests, arguments and fine proceedings. Now the obligation in local transport, which some people hate, ends on February 1st.
From the introduction of the mask requirement in April 2020 to the end of January of this year, 462,110 intentional mask violations have been documented on regional trains and train stations in NRW alone. This was announced by the NRW Security Competence Center at the Rhein-Ruhr Transport Association (VRR). NRW-wide figures on fine procedures and criminal charges after violent clashes are just as little available as total figures from the local local transport companies on violations in buses and trams.
Fines for mask refusers
In addition to surgical masks, self-sewn fabric masks or scarves and cloths pulled over the face were initially permitted as protection. At the end of January 2021, the mask requirement in public transport was tightened, as medical masks such as surgical or FFP2 masks were prescribed.
In the dispute over the mask, it was repeatedly necessary to exclude stubborn refusers and repeat offenders from continuing to drive and to initiate fine proceedings together with the regulatory authorities and the federal police, the competence center said.
22.6 million euros for additional security personnel
In 2021 alone, around 1.5 million people were approached and advised of the correct wearing of the mask and the necessary distance. According to the VRR, around 100 additional security guards on trains and around 120 security guards in train stations have been deployed in recent years to monitor the obligation to wear masks and the 3G rules, to strengthen the regulatory authorities and the federal police.
To finance the additional controls, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia provided the transport companies with an additional 15 million euros in the first year of the corona pandemic, the safety competence center announced in its annual report for 2020. In 2021, the transport companies would have even spent 22.6 million euros on additional security personnel.
The mask requirement in local transport will now be lifted on February 1, 2023. The mask requirement in long-distance traffic falls one day later on February 2nd. (dpa)
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