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Back on the buses? Transport bosses urge government to rethink 'non-essential' journey guidance

Manchester, United Kingdom - April 22, 2013: People ride FirstGroup city bus in Manchester, UK. FirstGroup employs 124,000 people.
People ride a FirstGroup city bus in Manchester. (Getty)

With the government still advising people to avoid trains and buses where possible, transport giant FirstGroup has urged ministers to rethink.

The company’s chief executive Matthew Gregory claimed it is time to “move away” from appealing to passengers not to use public transport for non-essential journeys.

While coronavirus lockdown restrictions have eased in recent weeks, the Department for Transport (DfT) continues to tell people to “stay off public transport if they can” due to the ongoing pandemic.

But Gregory told the PA news agency that as face coverings are now mandatory on public transport, it is time to “change the message to the fact that public transportation is safe”.

A commuter wearing a protective face mask walks along the platform at Clapham Common underground station, London, as train services increase this week as part of the easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions, Thursday May 21, 2020. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP)
A commuter wearing a protective face mask walks along the platform at Clapham Common underground station, London. (AP)

He said: “We’ve enhanced the cleaning, we’ve enhanced the disinfectant, we’ve dealt with social distancing properly to try and avoid crowding.

“We’ve made this case to government to start moving away from that avoiding public transport (message) because we have to get the economy moving again, people want to travel again and move again.

“If we’re revitalising the hospitality industry, then we want people to go on public transportation, we don’t want them getting in their cars and having congestion and air pollution.

“It was right at the time, but it is time now to move away from that messaging to something more that promotes the safe use of public transport.”

Latest figures show that road traffic has returned to 83% of pre-lockdown levels, but train use across Britain and bus use outside London is still low, sitting at 16% and 29% respectively.

Passenger watchdog Transport Focus has written to transport secretary Grant Shapps urging him to review the government’s communication strategy.

Chief executive Anthony Smith said: “It seems unfair that people who don’t have alternatives to public transport may be put off using it due to unclear or inconsistent messages.

“People need to be clear on whether they can or cannot use public transport.

 TFL London Bus with a sign restricting the amount of passengers allowed on to their buses to maintain social distancing. Only 10 passengers per single deck & 20 for a double deck bus (with the driver having the discretion to allow more passengers when households or groups are traveling together). (Photo by Dave Rushen / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)
Passenger numbers are restricted on many buses in order to maintain social distancing. (PA)

“The government and transport industry must urgently review the message it puts out.”

FirstGroup is Britain’s largest bus company and also a major train operator.

It saw its shares tumble by 23% on Wednesday after revealing a “material uncertainty” over its ability to continue as a going concern as its pre-tax losses widened to £300 million for the year to 31 March.

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