Transport Secretary Grant Shapps yesterday announced that the wearing of face coverings on public transport “will be compulsory from 15th June”.
He said that “every precaution” must be taken as passenger numbers were expected to increase when lockdown measures were eased further.
Coverings must be worn on buses, trams, trains, coaches, aircraft and ferries. However very young children, disabled people and those with breathing difficulties would be exempt, he said.
Speaking at the daily coronavirus briefing, Mr Shapps said face coverings would be “a condition of travel” and not wearing one could “ultimately” lead to a fine.
But he added: “Why wouldn’t people want to do the right thing?”
He said surgical masks must be kept for clinical settings and instead travellers should wear the kind of face covering that could be made at home. They should cover the mouth and nose and can be as simple as a scarf or bandanna tied snugly behind the head.
Mr Shapps also stressed that social distancing and regular hand washing were still the most important measures to prevent the disease spreading.
BBC News
From the same date, National Express West Midlands will be further increasing service levels to “about 85% of pre-coronavirus levels”.
From Sunday 14th June we are putting more buses back into service across Birmingham and the Black Country so that people returning to work can safely social distance on board.
Shops selling clothes, toys, books and electronics are allowed to open on Monday 15th June. So we will be returning to about 85% of pre-coronavirus levels, with buses arriving more frequently across the network.
In this ‘new normal’, we would like to thank customers for staying apart to stay safe. We are continually gathering data from the buses and our inspectors are out patrolling busy areas. We have a mini-fleet of “sweeper” vehicles on standby every day to double up where it gets busy so there are more buses available, giving more space on board each bus.
As the lockdown continues to ease, we will adjust our services to match our customers’ needs as best we can.
National Express West Midlands
You can bet your bottom dollar folks that when people use the phrase “new normal” that this isn’t going to be some temporary measure, and this is here to stay.
I’ll finish with this helpful infographic from the BBC, but I’d be very interested in hearing others’ views on this.
