The masks come off on planes, trains and automobiles

To mask or not to mask? Travelers now have the option in most places, including Chicago. So, how’s the new normal going so far?

By Daniel Tucker, Meha Ahmad, Isabelle Earl
Airline passengers, some not wearing face masks following the end of the federal mask mandate, sit during a American Airlines flight operated by SkyWest Airlines from Los Angeles International Airport to Denver, on Tuesday.
Airline passengers, some not wearing face masks following the end of the federal mask mandate, sit during a American Airlines flight operated by SkyWest Airlines from Los Angeles International Airport to Denver, on Tuesday. AFP via Getty Images
Airline passengers, some not wearing face masks following the end of the federal mask mandate, sit during a American Airlines flight operated by SkyWest Airlines from Los Angeles International Airport to Denver, on Tuesday.
Airline passengers, some not wearing face masks following the end of the federal mask mandate, sit during a American Airlines flight operated by SkyWest Airlines from Los Angeles International Airport to Denver, on Tuesday. AFP via Getty Images

The masks come off on planes, trains and automobiles

To mask or not to mask? Travelers now have the option in most places, including Chicago. So, how’s the new normal going so far?

By Daniel Tucker, Meha Ahmad, Isabelle Earl
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After a federal judge struck down the mask mandate on April 18 for airlines, mask mandates started falling on other forms of transportation. Here in Chicagoland, CTA, Metra and PACE no longer require masks. And you don’t have to wear a mask in an Uber or Lyft.

Reset checks in with experts and listeners to understand how travel is changing now that mask requirements have been lifted on public transit, rideshares and the airline industry.

GUEST: David Schaper, NPR national desk correspondent based in Chicago