The passengers are BACK!

[whole diary]

[Bmblbzzz]

Had to work in London today, got an early TfL^» (Transport for London - about) service from Taplow to Ealing Broadway, then Central Line to White City - it was still very quiet on train and Tube, but there were a lot fewer people wearing masks, both on train and Tube.

Same story on the way home.

There was a BT Police officer at White City Tube station pulling non mask wearers over but they were all saying "exempt mate", and of course there wasn't much he could do - a lot of them seen to be laughing as they walked off.

Why do we share the planet with so many morons? 

Surprised at this. Is there a legal requirement to wear masks (unless exempt) in the tube? If so, how does it work that it doesn't apply to other forms of public transport in England?

[IndustryInsider]

TfL^» (Transport for London - about) mandated it, yes.  I’m practice it seems to have made little difference, though there is a slightly better mask wearing percentage as a result.

Personally I think the ‘morons’ have gotten used to not needing to wear one in virtually every other setting - pubs, restaurants, shops and nite clubs (the latter a bigger risk of spread in my opinion), so fewer and fewer are bothering.

[TaplowGreen]

TfL^» (Transport for London - about) mandated it, yes.  I’m practice it seems to have made little difference, though there is a slightly better mask wearing percentage as a result.

Personally I think the ‘morons’ have gotten used to not needing to wear one in virtually every other setting - pubs, restaurants, shops and nite clubs (the latter a bigger risk of spread in my opinion), so fewer and fewer are bothering.

It's made a lot of difference on TfL up until now from what I've seen, with staff reminding people regularly & PA^▸ (Public Address) announcements.....hopefully just a bad day.

My experience on a couple of recent trips with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) to Plymouth it's been far less well observed, but then again they along with other TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) decided not to mandate it, and with none of the train crew I saw wearing masks, probably difficult for them to ask others to?

Supermarkets from what I see have been better but agree 100% re nightclubs

That said, all the legislation in the World can't stop abject stupidity.

[IndustryInsider]

Big drop off in the last 6-8 weeks in my experience.  TfL^» (Transport for London - about) and National Rail.

[Bmblbzzz]

Didn't know about the TfL^» (Transport for London - about) mandate. As BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) are enforcing it (or trying to) I presume it does have some legal authority. GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) might start with their staff... or maybe not. I'm hearing people say 50% wearing on Tube, that's way over anything I'm seeing in trains, buses and most shops here.

[IndustryInsider]

The outside of London buses I have caught recently are around 50% still, and busy trains similar. 

Quiet trains and I can sympathise why people don’t bother TBH^▸ (to be honest).  You don’t get too many of those in London though of course.

Shops?  Maybe 10%?

[Marlburian]

To go down a siding for a moment, I'm one of those who have noted the irony of Sajid Javid urging everyone to wear masks when hardly any of his party do so in the House of Commons. (I also have strong views about the Government's delay in taking action that seems to be inevitable sooner or later.)

[TaplowGreen]

To go down a siding for a moment, I'm one of those who have noted the irony of Sajid Javid urging everyone to wear masks when hardly any of his party do so in the House of Commons. (I also have strong views about the Government's delay in taking action that seems to be inevitable sooner or later.)

The front benches have so much in common these days..............(few weeks ago at their Conference, not a single mask to be seen) 

[JayMac]

Had to work in London today, got an early TfL^» (Transport for London - about) service from Taplow to Ealing Broadway, then Central Line to White City - it was still very quiet on train and Tube, but there were a lot fewer people wearing masks, both on train and Tube.

Same story on the way home.

There was a BT Police officer at White City Tube station pulling non mask wearers over but they were all saying "exempt mate", and of course there wasn't much he could do - a lot of them seen to be laughing as they walked off.

Why do we share the planet with so many morons? 

Indeed. Moronic to be attempting to use police to enforce a transport operator's guideline. That should be the preserve of TfL staff only. Unless and until a person refuses to comply with the Conditions of Carriage and the requests of a member of TfL staff.

In the meantime how about BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) officers sticking to law enforcement instead?

[TaplowGreen]

Had to work in London today, got an early TfL^» (Transport for London - about) service from Taplow to Ealing Broadway, then Central Line to White City - it was still very quiet on train and Tube, but there were a lot fewer people wearing masks, both on train and Tube.

Same story on the way home.

There was a BT Police officer at White City Tube station pulling non mask wearers over but they were all saying "exempt mate", and of course there wasn't much he could do - a lot of them seen to be laughing as they walked off.

Why do we share the planet with so many morons? 

Indeed. Moronic to be attempting to use police to enforce a transport operator's guideline. That should be the preserve of TfL staff only. Unless and until a person refuses to comply with the Conditions of Carriage and the requests of a member of TfL staff.

In the meantime how about BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) officers sticking to law enforcement instead?

I'm quite happy to see them trying to save lives, even if they are dealing with people who need saving from themselves.

[JayMac]

From BTP^▸ (British Transport Police)'s own website:

From Monday 19 July 2021 face covering legislation is removed in England and British Transport Police (BTP) will no longer have involvement in policing the wearing of face coverings.

BTP cannot enforce conditions of carriage but its officers will continue to support the rail industry to make sure passengers and staff are kept safe on the railway.

https://www.btp.police.uk/police-forces/british-transport-police/areas/campaigns/covid-19/

So, what you witnessed at White City today appears to be at odds with BTP's own guidance.

Should legislation change again then yes, the police should be on hand to enforce the law. Until then it's the preserve of businesses and service providers to 'police' their own rules. It's a slippery slope for police to be used in an enforcement role when there is no statute for said enforcement. Unless and until legislation is reintroduced BTP should be using their limited resources to detect and prevent crime.

[Ralph Ayres]

As it's now only a Condition of Carriage, the most the BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) can do is assist LU staff if they decide to bar the offender from travelling.  The various exemptions, the lack of any need for proof, and the frequent reminders via PA^▸ (Public Address) announcements that there are exemptions and that they may not be visible does mean that there is little realistic hope of this happening with any regularity. The level of mask wearing in crowded places often seems to be minimal, and there is little sign of peer pressure or just being considerate of others having much impact.  Nothing will change unless the law does, or cases rocket hugely and people perhaps start to reconsider.

[NickB]

Please indulge me whilst I relay my recent experiences.  I write this as a seasoned commuter having held my maidenhead season ticket for 10 years until the pandemic.

I had my first day back in the office last Monday and whilst pleased that the trains were pleasantly empty I was stunned by the absence of masks by both passengers and GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) staff. Same for TfL^» (Transport for London - about) for that matter. I didn’t see one staff member with a mask, not one.  I returned home on a TfL service, surrounded by the maskless and even when having tickets checked no one flinched. No passengers were challenged.

Today, the first day of my daughter’s half term holiday, we decided to go to London for a museum trip. Without my season ticket that would be £64 for my wife and I, peak. Off peak, slightly cheaper, but ALL off peak trains are Neanderthal slow (47mins to paddington?!?!? No thanks).  And that’s after I deal with the lottery of can I park at the station (better odds on euromillons) after GWR closed 2 of the 3 carparks at Maidenhead. Even if there was a space it’s £7.

So I drove.

Prebooked a parking space for £30. Bargain compared to £72 minimum to take a family of 3 to London. And yes, I arrived faster too. And with less stress about germs and viruses and anything else really.

I feel quite sad that this is the situation that GWR presents to potential travellers.

[MVR S&T]

IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion) looks like the WFH^▸ (Working From Home) and face mask law, or guidance, will come back in a few days or so:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59011321

[TaplowGreen]

IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion) looks like the WFH^▸ (Working From Home) and face mask law, or guidance, will come back in a few days or so:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59011321

Sooner the better re: masks, and let's hope it's rigorously enforced.

If people don't want to wear one (as opposed to having a legitimate medical reason not to), fine, but equally be prepared to respect and stay away from others, and make other arrangements re: travel, shopping, social life etc.