Planning for restoration of services

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

Face coverings mandatory on public transport from June 15th....just announced at Press Conference. Refused travel/fines for non compliance.

I had a feeling that would happen.  Though it will be very difficult to enforce, but at least if more people wear masks the risk of infecting others will reduce slightly. 

My crystal ball (admittedly not as famous as Broadgage's which has been strangely silent of late) says "Watch for the 2 metre social distancing policy to reduce to 1 metre on public transport soon."

[TaplowGreen]

Face coverings mandatory on public transport from June 15th....just announced at Press Conference. Refused travel/fines for non compliance.

I had a feeling that would happen.  Though it will be very difficult to enforce, but at least if more people wear masks the risk of infecting others will reduce slightly. 

My crystal ball (admittedly not as famous as Broadgage's which has been strangely silent of late) says "Watch for the 2 metre social distancing policy to reduce to 1 metre on public transport soon."

Will it be permissible to remove face covering to eat fillet steak or drink Port?

[Sixty3Closure]

Having just travelled from West Wales to Reading I was surprised at the lack of social distancing measures.

With GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) saying a reservation is essential I was a bit surprised to find the two reserved seats booked side by side. Attached pic.

Unless Reservations are being used purely to manage numbers? I seemed to be the only passenger with a reservation though other than the one next to me who may or may not have boarded. Seemed to be a few people doing small journeys rather than long distance travel. No one checked my ticket or asked me if I had a reservation and there was no guidance on the train about seating.

While that might work for an early morning train from Ferryside I was expecting it to ramp up a bit beyond Swansea. It wasn't exactly busy but that still didn't seem to stop people wanting to sit in the coach which already had people in.

It might a risk assessment has been done and the hands off approach is seen as the best approach but at the least I was expecting a bit more information and guidance. And the booking system not to put reservations side by side.

It was though initial uncertainty about what to expect a very peaceful and relaxing journey. Cheapest one I've done on that route as well but the pricing remains a mystery to me and seems quite random.

[JayMac]

The face mask rule. Can I wear the following? Planning a trip up the ECML^▸ (East Coast Main Line) to Durham.

[stuving]

The minster's statement is, oddly, filed under DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) not Covid despite not all being about transport. This is the main bit:

Updated guidance – face coverings

Second, I can announce that, as of Monday 15 June, face coverings will become mandatory on public transport.

That doesn’t mean surgical masks, which we must keep for clinical settings. It means the kind of face covering you can easily make at home.

There’ll be exceptions to the rule for very young children, disabled people and those with breathing difficulties.

But broadly, as we come through this phase, we’re doing what many other countries have asked transport users to do.

And as passenger numbers increase, and we expect this trend to continue, we need to ensure every precaution is taken, on buses, trains, aircraft and ferries.

With more people using transport, the evidence suggests that wearing a face covering offers some – albeit limited – protection against the spread of the virus.

A face covering helps protect our fellow passengers. It is something that we can each do to help each other.

And whilst it also remains true that measures like maintaining social distance and washing your hands remain most critical, we also know that, on public transport, keeping two-metres apart is not always possible, all of the time.

Indeed, the guidance explicitly recognises this fact.

So, when more people return to the network, from the 15 June onwards, they will be required to wear a face covering on our transport network.

We’ll make these rules changes under the National Rail Conditions of Travel and the Public Service Vehicle Regulations for buses.

This will mean you can be refused travel if you don’t comply and could be fined.

Alongside transport operators, this will be enforced by the British Transport Police, as necessary.

But I expect the vast majority of people won’t need to be forced into this, because wearing a face-covering helps to protect others, and most people simply want to help defeat this disease.

Of course, frontline staff – those in contact with passengers, doing such an important job at this crucial time – will also need to wear face coverings.

In the coming days, the government will work with unions, who have been supportive for which I am grateful, transport operators and police to ensure they have the supplies they need to be safe and provide reassurance to the public.

These measures apply in England, and we are working with the devolved administrations ahead of implementation.

So, it was 2 m "where possible" but no guidance if it's not. Now it's to be ... much the same, I expect.

And here is the last SAGE note on Covid and public transport.

I also spotted in in the lead-in to that announcement this:

In advance of previous easing of the total lockdown, we ensured transport availability was increased to allow for adequate social distancing.

er ...  you what, Grant?

[grahame]

The minster's statement is, oddly, filed under DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) not Covid despite not all being about transport. This is the main bit:

Updated guidance – face coverings

Second, I can announce that, as of Monday 15 June, face coverings will become mandatory on public transport.

That doesn’t mean surgical masks, which we must keep for clinical settings. It means the kind of face covering you can easily make at home.

There’ll be exceptions to the rule for very young children, disabled people and those with breathing difficulties.

But broadly, as we come through this phase, we’re doing what many other countries have asked transport users to do.

Reading elsewhere too ...

"ON" public transport means while actually on the vehicle - pictures of passengers on platforms wearing masks as a train pulls in alongside are showing them ready to join, but not yet in the situation where they are legally required to be on.

Have I got that right, or must I to wear the mask on the platform?   As I enter Network Rail property or Bath Bus Station?

(Personally - probably be sensible about it. Within station such as Bath Spa, I expect I'll choose to wear a mask from before I enter the booking hall / not take it off until clear of the station.  If I'm getting on the train as only passenger at Dilton Marsh, I'll probably just put the mask on as I fly down the train.)

[TM]

At the moment Great Western are not allocating any actual seat reservations. However as you can book well in advance and the policy has only been in force for about a month it means there are still a few reservations showing.

The system is supposed to be turned off so nothing is showing.

[CyclingSid]

Does this encourage or discourage more people to travel?

Well on recent experience there will be no shortage of room on Reading Buses for BTP^▸ (British Transport Police), should they wish to carry out checks.

[Electric train]

Face coverings mandatory on public transport from June 15th....just announced at Press Conference. Refused travel/fines for non compliance.

I had a feeling that would happen.  Though it will be very difficult to enforce, but at least if more people wear masks the risk of infecting others will reduce slightly. 

My crystal ball (admittedly not as famous as Broadgage's which has been strangely silent of late) says "Watch for the 2 metre social distancing policy to reduce to 1 metre on public transport soon."

I think Sir Peter Hendy summed it up in the few words he said, he expects the vast majority of passengers will willing comply as they know its the right thing to do.

He did mention the no alcahol on Tfl introduced under his watch by and large people observe that.

Also the no smoking on trains there is not strong arm of the law to enforce it but 99.9% of passengers abide by it, like was on platformers there are a few anti social smokers who think its ok to smoke on open platforms but the vast majority abide by the smoking ban.

There will be the odd occasion when someone will refuse to wear a face covering, I suspect social pressure from other passengers will make their life uncomfortable.

[TaplowGreen]

…..I always knew that Burqa would come in handy one day.

[Bmblbzzz]

Does this encourage or discourage more people to travel?

Well on recent experience there will be no shortage of room on Reading Buses for BTP^▸ (British Transport Police), should they wish to carry out checks.

I thought BTP only had powers over railway passengers not buses too? But I could well be wrong about that. (Unless you meant Boston Tea Party.  )

[grahame]

Does this encourage or discourage more people to travel?

Well on recent experience there will be no shortage of room on Reading Buses for BTP^▸ (British Transport Police), should they wish to carry out checks.

I thought BTP only had powers over railway passengers not buses too? But I could well be wrong about that. (Unless you meant Boston Tea Party.  )

BTP cover ... National Rail and many light rail systems and the Emirates Air line - but not heritage rail, nor Nottingham, Blackpool or Edinburgh trams, nor railways in Northern Ireland.

BTP officer can act as police constables outside this normal jurisdiction ...
* At the request of a police constable of another force in relation to a particular incident
* On the request of a chief constable of another force (not limited to a particular incident)
* Spontaneously, in relation to people they believe have, are or will commit an offence, or to save life, minimise injury or prevent damage to property.

E&OE

[ray951]

Today's headline from the FT: "UK^▸ (United Kingdom) rail bailout hits £3.5bn and set to rise further - Train operators in talks over extending state support for at least another year" https://on.ft.com/2zIuqCX This is behind a paywall so you might not all be able to see it.

Basically not enough passengers and the railway needs subsidising for another 12  - 18 months. Total bailout could hit £5bn - £6bn and there are worries about ongoing support as passengers probably wont return in the same numbers.

Also says rail executives are worried about the long term future of the industry, and one industry figure said the current government measures were rushed and that the crisis had been worse than anticipated.

In other public transport news the governement are looking to find more money for the bus industry in addition to the £397m they have already been given.

[TaplowGreen]

Today's headline from the FT: "UK^▸ (United Kingdom) rail bailout hits £3.5bn and set to rise further - Train operators in talks over extending state support for at least another year" https://on.ft.com/2zIuqCX This is behind a paywall so you might not all be able to see it.

Basically not enough passengers and the railway needs subsidising for another 12  - 18 months. Total bailout could hit £5bn - £6bn and there are worries about ongoing support as passengers probably wont return in the same numbers.

Also says rail executives are worried about the long term future of the industry, and one industry figure said the current government measures were rushed and that the crisis had been worse than anticipated.

In other public transport news the governement are looking to find more money for the bus industry in addition to the £397m they have already been given.

HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) looking ever more like a phenomenally expensive white elephant.

[Robin Summerhill]

There appear to be two stuck records on this forum - lack of buffet facilities and opposition to HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s))