You no longer need a mask if you're hopping in an Uber or a Lyft.
The ride-sharing companies announced early Tuesday that masks are no longer required for riders or drivers, a day after a federal judge halted the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's mask mandate for planes, trains, buses and other public transportation.
Uber said its new policy is effective starting Tuesday.
"However, the CDC still recommends wearing a mask if you have certain personal risk factors and/or high transmission levels in your area," the company said in a news release. "Remember: many people still feel safer wearing a mask because of personal or family health situations, so please be respectful of their preferences. And if you ever feel uncomfortable, you can always cancel the trip."
Lyft's announcement about lifting its mask rule came a short time after Uber's.
“We know that everyone has different comfort levels, and anyone who wants to continue wearing a mask is encouraged to do so. As always, drivers or riders can decline to accept or cancel any ride they don’t wish to take," the company said, according to CNBC.
Monday's ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle that the CDC's mask mandate was "unlawful" was followed by major airlines and Amtrak announcing they were dropping their mask requirements. Airlines had required masks since early in the pandemic in 2020, and the Biden administration made them mandatory early last year.
The Transportation Security Administration announced Monday that it will no longer enforce the mask mandate. The nation's largest airlines — United, Delta, Southwest and American — said it was now up to passengers to decide if they wanted to wear a mask or not.
"My kids looked at me and I smiled, and I was like ‘Thank you!'" Porsha Cole, who was on one of the first flights after the mask mandate was overturned, told NBC News correspondent Miguel Almaguer on TODAY Tuesday. "We're so happy!"
"We’re both vaccinated, so you know what? Masks? Done," Brian Lindley, who was traveling with his wife, Michelle, said.
The new policy also came as a relief for flight attendant Jared Fielding, who often had to police battles between people who didn't want to wear masks and those who did.
"It will no longer be an us vs. them situation," Fielding told Almaguer.
Amtrak also announced masks will be optional on trains, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in the nation's capital has dropped its mandate. New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which includes the subway system, is still requiring masks for now.
The changes come as Covid cases have risen in some areas of the country, but hospitalizations have not risen nationally.
"If the CDC loses its power to prevent the spread of infectious diseases between states or coming into the country, we are all at great risk," Dr. Richard Besser, former acting director of the CDC, told Savannah Guthrie on TODAY Tuesday.
"So I hope that this ruling is challenged because in the next pandemic, the next big public health crisis, we want the CDC to be able to put in science-based, rational restrictions that protect people's health."