Use of public transport - moving from Red to Amber

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Changing from red to amber - or perhaps even double amber?

An update to the Melksham Rail User Group website at http://www.mrug.org.uk to suggest that people should no longer shy away from the train or bus as if it puts them in mortal danger, or is antisocial because they're taking places that key workers should use.

Newsletter from MRUG^» (Melksham Rail User Group - site) at http://www.mrug.org.uk/mrugnews_202007.pdf
Advise on travel at http://www.mrug.org.uk/coronavirus.html
Current timetables (has been a moving target page!) at http://www.mrug.org.uk/timetable.html

Really hard to know how strong or wide to start the "come back" message; locally, lead taken from Faresaver buses who now run most of our services, and from First Group CEO^▸ (Chief Executive Officer).

Melksham Rail User Group - travelling after Coronavirus

The first six months of 2020 have been like no other year! The Melksham Rail User Group became the station friends member of ACoRP^▸ (Association of Community Rail Partnerships) [now the Community Rail Network] in January as planned, and embarked on continued planning for the year, to be thrown off course by the lockdown of the Coronavirus in March. We found ourselves in the unknown territory of supporting public transport by telling people to stay at home is they could and not use it, and even as things have started to open up in the last few weeks (writing mid July 2020), government advice has been to use private cars to get around, with public transport only as a last resort.

Melksham Rail User Group has met online (via Zoom) during this time, with friends activities at stations suspended across the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) (the planter at Melksham has done very well, but the place as a whole could have done with a litter pick or two a bit of TLC^▸ (three letter code, or tender loving care, depending on context )). Carnivals, fetes and fayres largely suspended, and out local paper ceasing delivery - so again much of the activity has been online.

But we are now at the point where our major train and bus operator are both saying "please come back to us" ... safety has always been paramount, but with knowledge, facemasks, new cleaning regimes, and a much lower infection rate, it is safe for people to travel in higher numbers, and to and from Melksham at least there is good capacity on all services.

Please take a look at
* Some local travel ideas in our July newsletter http://www.mrug.org.uk/mrugnews_202007.pdf
* Current services http://www.mrug.org.uk/timetable.html
* Travelling as we come out of Coronavirus http://www.mrug.org.uk/coronavirus.html