Long term social distancing: Impact on public life & public transport?

[Bletchleyite]

And the vaccine has achieved thus far?

The fact is that the human immune system is way more advanced and sophisticated than any of our scientists could ever hope to be. This is why herd immunity is still the most reliable model available to us. Indeed, many vaccines actually need the immune system to react to deactivated or dead versions of the viruses to be effective.

ALL vaccines work in that way, not just many of them! The idea of them is that they train some aspect of the immune system to respond to something similar to the thing you're vaccinating against that doesn't make you sick, or only makes you a bit sick.

The immune system of course sometimes makes mistakes and develops reactions against things unnecessarily - allergies - so this needs doing carefully, which is why you can't just whack one out. If your vaccine was effective at killing COVID but caused a cytokine storm if exposed to, say, an apple, you'd have a problem. (This is not as far fetched as it sounds - if you are bitten by the Lone Star Tick the saliva of that causes you to become allergic to meat due to a sugar in the saliva that is also in near enough all meats! That is basically the same thing as happens with a vaccine, but it is clearly not desirable even if you're vegan!)

 

[yorkie]

Does anyone else have anything to add on the topic of Long term social distancing: Impact on public life & public transport? If so, please do reply below; otherwise I'll close the thread.

To discuss anything else, please check if there is an existing thread that is suitable; if there isn't, feel free to create a new one

 

[Mikey C]

I saw my first "Bus Full" sign today, with its full quota of 20 (double decker) passengers.

 

[Class 33]

I saw my first "Bus Full" sign today, with its full quota of 20 (double decker) passengers.

The other day I saw a double decker bus in Bristol with a "Sorry Bus Full" on the destination display. Yet I could see there were only TWO people at the front on the top deck! So even with a lot of the seats taped off to allow "Social distancing"(god I absolutely HATE that phrase!), there were still a number of seats available to use. So that bus should have definitely not had "Sorry Bus Full" on it's destination display.

 

[BJames]

I saw my first "Bus Full" sign today, with its full quota of 20 (double decker) passengers.

Been seeing far too many of these round my way recently. This problem really needs to be solved ASAP.

 

[Mag_seven]

Been seeing far too many of these round my way recently. This problem really needs to be solved ASAP.

Social distancing needs to be scrapped on public transport in return for the compulsory face cover wearing that has been put in place in most of the UK.

 

[PG]

That's untrue. To kill COVID19 the washing bit is important. Drying much less so, and if you dry on a shared towel or one of those stupid Dyson hand dryers you can't avoid touching, then negative.

Reply moved to this thread.

 

[yorkie]

Yes ok I get that the washing part is what gets rid of any germs (including but not limited to Covid19). If you don't dry your hands then germs present on any surface you touch before they are dry can transfer more readily (and multiply quicker) than if your hands are dry.
I fully accept, as both you and @yorksrob have pointed out, that many driers are about as useful as a chocolate fire guard!

You are talking about bacteria; we are in the wrong forum section for that

Been seeing far too many of these round my way recently. This problem really needs to be solved ASAP. By

see the dedicated thread for this topic

Could mandatory mask-wearing replace social distancing on public transport, thus increasing capacity?

I was very alarmed to read this on the CrossCountry website: https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/coronavirus#face-covering-faqs Q: Are you doing this just to reduce the need for social distancing? No. We are doing this to further reduce the risk of infection. Used properly, face coverings can...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[dan5324]

I think the long term future of public transport is very murky indeed. Income in particular. Rail companies and the government need to think of a way to get the public back on public transport. And fast

Now I don’t claim to speak for everyone or even most people however several family members and friends have taken up driving to work and the shops again after many a year absent from the wheel. They are now convinced the car takes the same amount of time sometimes quicker sometimes a little slower but is cheaper, more comfortable, and most Importantly of All, you don’t have to dress up like a surgeon or be shouted at by paranoid idiots for sitting ten seats away.

now if this is repeated by just a fraction of the public then that’s a huge chunk of PT patronage gone.

It’s gonna be very very hard imo to coax these and many others back onto public Transport. When you take into account as well that many jobs will now turn into home jobs and many jobs simply won’t exist at all, the railways are gonna lose a seismic amount of income unlike any we have seen before.
This whole “pandemic” is gonna put us back easily 20 years in terms of PT usage versus car usage. Already I’m noticing traffic levels rapidly rising yet local rail stations deserted.

I think PT is being unfairly singled out despite no evidence proving that you’re more likely to get it there than anywhere else. Most places are now welcoming people back any way they can but public transport remains the one that is telling people to stay away.

Very worrying times

 

[yorkie]

I think this thread has run its course; most topics that have been posted here recently are covered by other threads and it's increasingly difficult for us to keep the thread 'on topic'; therefore I am locking the thread at this time.

As always, with any locked thread, feel free to contact us directly if you wish to contribute to this thread and we will consider any requests to unlock it.

Here are some relevant threads that may be of interest:

• Could long term social distancing require a shift in how public transport and motoring is allocated?
• Could mandatory mask-wearing replace social distancing on public transport, thus increasing capacity?
• What are your observations of face coverings wearing on public transport?
• Is it time to relax the 2m social distancing guideline? (WHO guidance is 1m)
• Should train companies be allowed to say "essential travel only" now Government allows travel to undertake activities permitted in the guidance?
• What COVID-inspired changes should the transport operators retain once things are fully back to normal?
• (and many more)