Mask wearing rules & advice, Thames Valley & South West England from 19.7.2021

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

Can’t say I’ve noticed any real change in compliance on GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) trains today against last week.  Perhaps over time fewer face coverings will be worn, but as yet there’s little evidence of a change since it has gone from ‘law’ to ‘recommendation’.

Good to hear & good to see people acting responsibly. Let's hope it stays that way.

Yes. 

I'm interested to hear what others think based on their public transport journeys this week?

[froome]

Can’t say I’ve noticed any real change in compliance on GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) trains today against last week.  Perhaps over time fewer face coverings will be worn, but as yet there’s little evidence of a change since it has gone from ‘law’ to ‘recommendation’.

Good to hear & good to see people acting responsibly. Let's hope it stays that way.

Yes. 

I'm interested to hear what others think based on their public transport journeys this week?

Just a short return bus journey into town today. Almost everyone wearing masks, apart from one teenage girl, who just after the bus started, shouted at her friend next to her "Take your mask off, it is making me sweat". Not sure of the logic there, but I was pleased that her friend didn't take hers off.

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

I drove into Reading yesterday to drop a car off for servicing.  Came back on the local bus to Pangbourne: all 5 of us wore masks. 

Went back into Reading on 1422 train (8 coach, air conditioned of course) from Pangbourne.  About 8 people on the platform, none wearing masks. I hopped in the second coach: there was one other person already there, not wearing a mask, and I sat down well away from him and didn’t either. 

I hopped off at Tilehurst and walked down to the Reading Bus 16 bus stop.  Everyone on the bus wore masks, including me, except one teenage girl who got on later shouting into her mobile phone.

So, allowing people to make their own judgements seems eminently sensible.  I doubt any “rules” would have had any impact on the teenage girl.

Can any compulsory mask advocates explain the logic of anything different?   

[eightonedee]

I have also had my first "post freedom day"  public transport experience today.

I travelled back from Milton Gate to Didcot Parkway by bus, then train to Didcot.

On the bus, the only person not wearing a mask was a driver, although it was quite lightly loaded. At Didcot almost all were wearing masks, the same for those boarding at Cholsey. At Goring there were 4 out of the dozen or so joining without masks, one of whom was wearing an exemption card and lanyard. The non-wearers were a young chap who I'd guess was a worker in the building trade from his overalls and what he was carrying, a girl (late teens?) and a woman in her 20s or 30s carrying a suitcase onto the train - no "yob element" discernable!

Tomorrow I have to go to London for the first time since before lockdown.....

[IndustryInsider]

Tomorrow I have to go to London for the first time since before lockdown.....

You’ll barely recognise it!  Quiet trains, quiet streets…quiet everything.  Well, until mid-morning anyway.

[eightonedee]

.....and on today's expedition to London.....

I took a stopping train to Reading, changed to an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) from Cheltenham for Paddington then Circle/Hammersmith & City to Faringdon - same in reverse home leaving after 6 pm (the IET being Swansea bound).

On stations, most were not wearing masks at Goring but duly donned them on boarding the trains. My onward train to Paddington had quite a high (but not universal) proportion of passengers complying. As neither train was crowded (perhaps 20-25% occupancy on the IET) it did not feel threatening.

Similar proportions complying on the return GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) legs of my journey, the IET being somewhat fuller, but not quite 50%, so everyone could distribute themselves in accordance with guidance about not facing, and only twos travelling together side by side.

On TfL^» (Transport for London - about) surprisingly considering the publicity in the press and notices on trains and stations the mask wearing was no higher on either trains or platforms. Insofar as there was any pattern, there seemed a slightly higher proportion of the "holiday maker with suitcase" type passenger not using masks. There were quite a few who still have not got he message about mouths and noses to be covered - and not all were confused elderly folk, which seems the case elsewhere. On the tube there were a few healthy looking young men without masks sitting conspicuously on the middle seat of three with no face covering - is it just a way of increasing their personal space? The other common factor was some using mobile devices with earphones, usually with masks around necks/beside them or in hands, as if using their devices was equivalent to eating justifying taking the mask off.

I saw no hostile reactions either way (in favour of or against masks).

Oh, I can reassure GWR 158 that the aircon on all GWR trains was working fine!

[IndustryInsider]

Thanks for that report…it pretty much mirrors my experiences.

London is certainly getting busier during the day.  I was at Victoria trying to get to Paddington.  Usual route is Victoria Line to Oxford Circus then cross platform change to the Bakerloo, but two trains arrived and departed pretty much packed to the rafters, so I baulked at the prospect and got a Circle Line train instead which was still busy but much better.

On the tubes I noticed about 75% complying with mask rules, about 10% not wearing them properly, and about 15% either exempt or not complying.  Probably about the same as a typical mainline train.