OLEAN AREA TRANSIT SYSTEM (OATS)
MASKS ARE NO LONGER REQUIRED ON OATS BUSES

September 9, 2022—Olean—Effective immediately, passengers riding on the Olean Area Transit System (OATS) buses are no longer required to wear face masks.

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced the elimination of the requirement for riders to wear a mask on public transportation vehicles at a press conference on Wednesday, September 7th. Accordingly, the wearing of facemasks while riding OATS buses is no longer required. Passengers are encouraged to wear masks but wearing a mask is optional. Passengers are asked to respect other riders’ choice on whether to wear a mask.

“I thank the riders of the Olean Area Transit System that complied with the requirement to wear masks while riding the OATS system since imposition in April 2020,” said City of Olean Mayor William Aiello. “The wearing of face masks was just one of several practices we deployed to attempt to protect our passengers from the potential spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus but, now as we seem to be moving past the pandemic, we want to return to normal pre-pandemic conditions,” Mayor Aiello added.

Comments regarding the elimination of the requirement to wear masks on OATS buses are welcomed from the public and human service agencies. Interested parties may comment on the policy change or obtain more details about services offered by the Olean Area Transit System by contacting or writing to: Keri Kerper, Program Coordinator, Department of Community Development, 101 East State Street, Olean, NY 14760, 716-376-5647, [email protected].