Great Western Coffee Shop

One thing I thought that would be worth highlighting regarding social distancing on buses that I read....

As you may know, bus passenger numbers are limited on buses due to the 2 metre social distancing rule. This means on double decker buses that would normally carry 75 people now only carry 20 people. Single deckers that would normally carry I think around 50 now only carry 10 people.

I was shocked when I heard Tim Bowles, Metro Mayor of WECA say, changing the two-metre social distancing rule to 1 metre would only boost bus capacity by 1 passenger per vehicleMetrhttps://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/uk/relaxing-two-metre-rule-would-boost-bus-capacity-by-one-passenger-metro-mayor/

I know via the Travelwatch SouthWest Zoom fireside chats, Claire Walters, Chief Executive of Bus Users UK had been pushing for a relaxation of the rules for buses to 1 metre. But from what Tim Bowles was saying it doesn't seem it would have much effect...

While I am sure the bus companies would welcome a reduction to one metre many have invested a lot of time and money in the last few weeks marking out vehicles with two metre signage and blocking off of seats which will need re-doing.

And other haven’t bothered. Go Cornwall have nothing in place whereas First southwest In Kernow have gone full blown Social distancing, every bus gets touchpoints cleaned at every bus station. The passengers have noticed and are picking FSW where they can, clean buses knowing others won’t be sat close to them, it’s given FSW a clear advantage in passenger choice. Go Ahead are running round empty! FSW are carrying passengers albeit not back to hitting the social distance limits

Does anyone know what the current government advice says about where to sit, relative to other people, on a bus?

TfL used their regular full page in Metro on 14th July to announce, for buses,  the reintroduction of all payments, front-door boarding, and an increase of capacity limits "in line with latest government guidance". But the gov.uk content was updated on 17th July, and on closer examination TfL were reporting the end of a programme announced on 22nd and 29th May (to finish "by mid-June"). That announcement also referred to revised government guidelines, which would have been the first set of "relaxations".

TfL don't seem to have anything on line that's the same length as that Metro article - the corresponding piece of 13th July (https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2020/july/all-london-buses-now-taking-payments-as-capacity-limits-are-safely-increased) is a lot shorter. Both say, roughly:

That doesn't sound to me like 2 m spacing.

I've tried chasing links round .gov.uk looking for an answer to that Question "where should I sit?". I can't find one - at least, not one that's clear enough you'd ever know if you were following it. So are TfL saying, on a nudge-nudge-don't-ask basis, that "2 m if possible" should be understood to be 1 m on buses as 2 m isn't possible?

I travelled on a number of buses on Saturday.   Swindonbus have relabelled all their vehicles over the last week.  The former window stickers blocking off alternate rows have been replaced with one on each row urging people to only occupy the window seat (the view is better apparently).

The seat immediately behind the driver's cab was blocked off with a sash over the seat.

The same applied on Stagecoach regarding the sash but there was less signage on the rest of the vehicle.

On my bus today there were 8 of us on the top deck.  Ten out of ten (or should that be 8 out of 8?) for properly worn face coverings.  Rather less that that for social distancing as the lure of the front seats meant five of the six seats were taken (occupied by three, maybe four separate households), with the remaining three passengers, including me, sat well apart in socially distanced luxury.