Policing and Public Transportation (2022)

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TCRP LRD 58 43 the plaintiffs’ complaint.618 “[T]he duty imposed upon carriers by Civil Code section 2100 includes a duty to protect passengers from assaults by fellow passengers.”619 Moreover, common car- riers are subject to a statutory duty requiring that they provide “safe carriage” to “individuals who have accepted the carrier’s offer of transportation and have put their safety, and even their lives, in the carrier’s hands.”620 The court stated that Cal. Gov’t Code Section 845 was not implicated by the case.621 Section 845 provides that “[n]either a public entity nor a public employee is liable for failure to estab- lish a police department or otherwise provide police protection service or, if police protection service is provided, for failure to provide sufficient police protection service.” The plaintiffs did not allege that the “RTD was negligent in failing to provide police personnel or armed guards on board its buses.. . .”622 Rather, the gravamen of plaintiffs’ complaint [was] that the bus driver, who was already hired by RTD and was present on the scene and aware of the violent disturbance, did absolutely nothing to protect plaintiffs, but simply continued to drive the bus as if nothing was wrong.623 The California Supreme Court, which ruled that the trial court erred when it dismissed the plaintiffs’ complaint, reversed and remanded the case. PART VII – Public Transportation Authorities and Public Health and Safety XVII. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITIES’ COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY MEASURES A. Federal Agencies’ Orders during the COVID-19 Pandemic Requiring the Wearing of Face Masks when Using Public Transportation On January 21, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden issued an Executive Order directing federal agencies to require the wear- ing of face masks in a range of transportation contexts nation- wide.624 Thereafter, as discussed below, the Centers for Disease 618 Lopez, 40 Cal.3d at 783, 710 P.2d at 908. 619 Id., 40 Cal.3d at 785, 710 P.2d at 909 (stating that “[v]irtually all courts and all commentators who have considered the issue have con- cluded that a common carrier’s duty to its passengers includes a duty to protect them from assaults by fellow passengers”). See id., 40 Cal.3d at 786, 710 P.2d at 910 (citations omitted). 620 Id., 40 Cal.3d at 790, 710 P.2d at 912. 621 Id., 40 Cal.3d at 792, 710 P.2d at 914. 622 Id. 623 Id. 624 Executive Order, Promoting COVJD-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel (Jan. 21, 2021), https://www.whitehouse.gov/ briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/21/executive-order-pro- tecting-worker-health-and-safety/ (last accessed Jan. 31, 2022); Bryan L. Adkins, Legal Issues Related to Transportation Mask-Wearing Man- dates, Congressional Research Service, at 1 (April 12, 2021), [hereinafter Adkins, CRS] https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/ pdf/LSB/LSB10589 (last accessed Jan. 31, 2022). Control and Prevention (CDC),625 the Transportation Security Administration (TSA),626 and the Federal Transit Administra- tion (FTA)627 issued directives requiring passengers to wear a face mask when traveling on a covered mode of public transpor- tation. The TSA later extended its mandate of April 30, 2021, to January 18, 2022.628 On January 29, 2021, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 114, the CDC issued an order requiring that passengers and personnel wear masks that cover the mouth and nose when on covered modes of transportation and at transportation hubs.629 The CDC order applies to commercial and public transportation, including trains, buses, and train stations. The order states that, effective February 3, 2021, [c]onveyance operators must continue to require all people onboard to wear masks when boarding and disembarking, and for the dura- tion of travel, unless they are located in outdoor areas of the convey- ance (if such outdoor areas exist on the conveyance). Operators of transportation hubs must require all persons to wear a mask when entering or while located in the indoor premises of a transportation hub.630 Furthermore, the CDC order stated: All passengers on public conveyances (e.g., airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis, ride-shares) traveling into, within, or out of the United States (including U.S. territories) as well as conveyance operators (e.g., crew, drivers, conductors, and other workers involved in the operation of conveyances), regardless of their vaccination status, are required to wear a mask over their nose and mouth. Unless otherwise required by the operator, or federal, State, tribal, territorial, or local government, people are not required to wear a mask when located in outdoor areas of a conveyance (if such outdoor areas exist on the conveyance).631 625 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Requirement for Face Masks on Public Transportation Conveyances and at Transporta- tion Hubs (updates as of June 10, 2021), https://www.cdc.gov/ coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/face-masks-public-transportation. html (last accessed Jan. 31, 2022). 626 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Security Measures - Mask Requirements, Security Direc- tive (SD 1582/84-21-01) (eff. February 1, 2021), [hereinafter TSA Secu- rity Directive], https://www.tsa.gov/sites/default/files/sd-1582_84-21- 01.pdf (last accessed Jan. 31, 2022). 627 Federal Mask Requirement for Transit, Master Agreement Amend- ment, https://www.transit.dot.gov/TransitMaskUp#:~:text=FTA%E2% 80%99s%20Master%20Agreement%20contains%20the%20stan- dard%20terms%20and,includes%20enforcement%20actions%20 FTA%20may%20take%20for%20non-compliance (last accessed Jan. 31, 2022). 628 Reuters, U.S. will extend COVID-19 transport mask mandate through Jan. 18, [hereinafter Reuters], https://www.reuters.com/ business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/exclusive-us-expected-extend- transportation-mask-mandate-through-jan-18-sources-2021-08-17/ (last accessed Jan. 31, 2022). 629 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Requirement for Face Masks on Public Transportation Conveyances and at Transportation Hubs, supra note 625. See also, Adkins, CRS, supra note 624, at 1. 630 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Order: Wearing of face masks while on conveyances and at transportation hubs, at 1, https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/masks/mask-travel-guidance.html (last accessed Jan. 31, 2022). 631 Id.