Other states have pushed ahead. Baden-Württemberg will follow shortly with the lifting of this Corona rule. Then what applies?
Baden-Württemberg will end the mask requirement on buses, trams and local trains on January 31st. Because this is the last day that the current Corona regulation still applies. The mask in local public transport in Germany has been phased out since the beginning of December. Saxony-Anhalt and Bavaria were the first to go ahead. Other states have followed.
At the turn of the month January/February, the rule in this area is then passé throughout the Federal Republic, even if the federal states could not agree on a uniform deadline.
Most of the remaining federal states will not follow until February 2nd, the same day on which the mask requirement in long-distance rail traffic will be lifted two months earlier than originally planned. In theory, you would have to put on your mask for a day in the southwest when changing from the S-Bahn to the ICE at the beginning of February.
Local transport companies follow the guidelines
The SSB and the S-Bahn in the Stuttgart region will also implement this – just as the transport companies have followed the political guidelines since the beginning of the pandemic.
In practice, not that much should change on the reporting date. In reality, anyone who was no longer wearing a mask no longer had to fear sanctions, even if theoretically a fine of between 70 and 250 euros could be due by the end of January. And those who want to protect themselves personally will keep their masks on for a while in winter.
Police stopped checking
“The police haven’t checked here lately. We were only active when there were conflicts,” says a spokeswoman for the state police department. It is not the task and authority of the transport company to punish people who refuse to wear a mask. “We have informed our passengers about the applicable rules,” says a spokeswoman for Stuttgart Trams SSB. There was also no express order for the ticket inspectors to point out missing masks.