Following a recent order by United States District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, Florida, both Uber and Lyft will no longer compel drivers and customers to wear face masks.
According to Mizelle, the requirement “violates the processes that must be followed for agency regulation.” Customers who feel uncomfortable travelling with unmasked drivers may cancel their trips and obtain a full refund from the ridesharing company.
Customers must phone the company’s cancellation service and explain why they do not wish to take the journey in order to get a reimbursement.
The business continues to suggest that both drivers and passengers wear a mask. Despite the fact that masks are no longer essential, the business says they are still advised.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to suggest wearing a mask if you have specific personal risk factors and/or high transmission levels in your region.” Take note of the fact that many individuals still feel safer wearing a mask as a result of personal or familial health circumstances; thus, please be considerate of their wishes.”
A spokesman for Lyft confirmed that masks are no longer necessary while riding or driving with the business.
On Tuesday, the company said that “health safety concerns,” such as not wearing a mask, “would no longer display as cancellation alternatives in the app.” As an added benefit, riders and passengers will no longer be required to leave the front seat unoccupied or to open the windows.
Everyone’s degree of comfort is different, and anybody who want to continue wearing a mask is invited to do so,” the statement reads. In the same manner that they always have the option to refuse or cancel any ride they do not want to take,” the spokeswoman said.
The US Department of Justice, on the other hand, has said that if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determines that the mask requirement is still required for public transportation, it will overrule the Florida Judge’s decision.
The decision has not been met with universal approval. Members of Gig Workers Rising believe that the new rules will have a negative impact on both their health and their driver’s ratings.
As a result, we run the danger of receiving negative feedback and, in the worst case scenario, being deactivated if a rider refuses to wear a mask and we ask them to leave the vehicle. Rondu Gfantt, a rideshare driver in the San Francisco Bay Area and an activist for Gig Workers Rising, made the statement.