Social distancing rules on public transport?

[Skimpot flyer]

If not exempt, what's incorrect about that?

What’s incorrect about it is a guard can demand proof of exemption as much as they like. The regulations specifically state that evidence of exemption is not required to be produced. Therefore, it is disgusting that any railway employee leaps to the conclusion that someone travelling without a face-covering is ‘refusing to comply’.
Only if the person starts stating that they won’t wear one can any action be taken

 

[BJames]

I don't think you could be more wrong there. Have a laugh with them about how uncomfortable they are - get on fine. Bark at them - get nowhere. In a group there is a way of talking to them and it usually starts with "come on lads (or ladies), you've got to/can't be doing x, y or z". Talk to them like humans and they're usually pretty receptive, even if it means slapping a mask over their make up I had a group the other day that weren't delighted with the concept and I ended up standing for a minute or two (at a decent distance) talking about ways to make them more bearable and where I'd bought mine (which they quite liked - one offered a swap which I politely refused) and no further problems occurred.

Doesn't always work but the worst thing you can do is try and act like a teacher or police officer when you're nothing of the sort.

Thank you for being like this, and you're absolutely right of course. If only all the other guards acted in the same manner we wouldn't be having such issues across the network with people making up rules as they go along. Working with people is the best way, and coming across understanding makes people much more likely to comply. It's a common customer service technique that unfortunately many seem yet to have mastered. And no doubt you have much better results and a much calmer train for it too.

 

[bramling]

I don't think you could be more wrong there. Have a laugh with them about how uncomfortable they are - get on fine. Bark at them - get nowhere. In a group there is a way of talking to them and it usually starts with "come on lads (or ladies), you've got to/can't be doing x, y or z". Talk to them like humans and they're usually pretty receptive, even if it means slapping a mask over their make up I had a group the other day that weren't delighted with the concept and I ended up standing for a minute or two (at a decent distance) talking about ways to make them more bearable and where I'd bought mine (which they quite liked - one offered a swap which I politely refused) and no further problems occurred.

Doesn't always work but the worst thing you can do is try and act like a teacher or police officer when you're nothing of the sort.

Your last bit chimes well. Unfortunately elements of the railway industry are run like a school at the best of times!

 

[SouthEastBuses]

First Kernow have no blocked off seats on their open top double deckers (on the open air part)

 

[Pete_uk]

Nonsense announcements by Northern guards now...

‘If you refuse to comply by wearing a face mask you need to return to the platform now otherwise you may get kicked off the train en route and met by the BTP’!!!

Any recordings of such rubbish should be posted to the TOCs social media outlets if possible and then be asked why such bare faced lies are being spouted by their staff.

 

[trainophile]

Not on public transport but certainly in the vicinity of it - Bath Spa station, Ladies toilets on platform 1. Row of four cubicles. Doors 1 and 2 taped up "out of use", 3 and 4 available. I thought the idea was alternate facilities to allow distancing.

 

[Scrotnig]

Not on public transport but certainly in the vicinity of it - Bath Spa station, Ladies toilets on platform 1. Row of four cubicles. Doors 1 and 2 taped up "out of use", 3 and 4 available. I thought the idea was alternate facilities to allow distancing.

I've never understood taping off cubicles anyway. Surely, being in a cubicle you are kept apart from anyone else anyhow.

Closing off toilets seems more like an excuse not to provide them.

 

[Cowley]

Closing off toilets seems more like an excuse not to provide them.

It feels like a lot of things at the moment aren’t being provided for that reason.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It feels like a lot of things at the moment aren’t being provided for that reason.

COVID is certainly an easy way to "bury bad news", i.e. do the customer-unfriendly thing you wanted to do anyway and hide it behind that.

See "security" at airports too.

 

[adc82140]

It's the lack of consistency that annoys me. Why, for example, do some stations have all the bogs open, but some close off every other. One of the two must be wrong, and the one that is wrong needs to be corrected.

 

[westv]

It's the lack of consistency that annoys me. Why, for example, do some stations have all the bogs open, but some close off every other. One of the two must be wrong, and the one that is wrong needs to be corrected.

Are there also still any with none open at all?

 

[trainophile]

In Exmouth the toilets outside M&S which also serve the station are locked up, and in the town the only other ones I know of without going to the beach are in the market hall and were also not in use. Thought that was a bit poor given it's a tourist area. All the pubs have an employee monitoring the queues to go in too, so no chance of nipping in just to use the facilities. It's about time they got things like public loos back to normal availability.

 

[Bikeman78]

I've never understood taping off cubicles anyway. Surely, being in a cubicle you are kept apart from anyone else anyhow.

Closing off toilets seems more like an excuse not to provide them.

Cambridge station toilets have several urinals. All are taped off except the one closest to the door. I was within inches of a bloke standing having a pee when I walked in.

At Cardiff Central all the toilets are still closed except the single ones on platform 8.

 

[greyman42]

It's the lack of consistency that annoys me. Why, for example, do some stations have all the bogs open, but some close off every other. One of the two must be wrong, and the one that is wrong needs to be corrected.

I don't think that there is any need to tape of urinals in larger toilets. Unless they get really busy for some reason, blokes tend to keep their distance in toilets.

 

[sheff1]

It's the lack of consistency that annoys me. Why, for example, do some stations have all the bogs open, but some close off every other. One of the two must be wrong, and the one that is wrong needs to be corrected.

Yesterday at Preston station all urinals were available for use, at Manchester Piccadilly a couple were taped off, at Stockport 50% were taped off. As far as I could tell, the spacing of the urinals was pretty much the same in all three locations. It seems to be down to somebody's whim ... or how much tape they have got.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yesterday at Preston station all urinals were available for use, at Manchester Piccadilly a couple were taped off, at Stockport 50% were taped off. As far as I could tell, the spacing of the urinals was pretty much the same in all three locations. It seems to be down to somebody's whim ... or how much tape they have got.

Or people that realise that socially distanced use of urinals is how every bloke does it anyway and so there is no reason to enforce it with tape?

I must admit I like where they have put up high partitions like the Victorians had, as it's then OK to actually use all of them without feeling like you're invading privacy!

 

[WM Bus]

Noticed today Chiltern Railways have the vast majority with notices on them, saying not to sit on them. I thought it was normally one passenger per row as well (and that seems to be how it works on the West Midland Railway Trains and National Express West Midland buses), yet rows of seats had the notice on both seats. So doubt that will work during busy peak times.
Was the 08:25 service from Birmingham Moor Street towards London Marylebone.

 

[Failed Unit]

Are there also still any with none open at all?

Lincoln Centrals were all closed when I passed through 2 weeks ago. I have got into the habit of using the train before arrival. But very poor customer service.

As others have said I don't understand why some TOCs closed them and others think they are OK to be open. Nice saving from EMR for not needing to maintain them. Maybe they have opened now.

 

[LowLevel]

Despite the fears to the contrary I have carried significant numbers of school children this week aged 11-18 on my trains (one service carries somewhere between 60 and 100 daily) and they've all been absolute models of good behaviour. All wearing face coverings correctly (whatever your opinion on it), sitting sensibly either in small groups of friends or spread out and all holding season tickets, having the right money for their journeys or cards and causing no problems whatsoever. Plenty of adults I've been carting about could learn a thing or two by watching them.

 

[Hadders]

Dare I say it but there does seem to be a bit of a North-South divide in my experience.

Down in GTR land people are left to get on with things, there is hand sanitiser at the stations but once onboard everyone uses their common sense.

I’m on a Norther ln Train as I write this. I didn't notice any hand sanitiser at the station (Sheffield station but to be fair I could’ve missed it). The train conductor was barking at passengers as we boarded that we must wear masks. There are still out of use seat covers on many of the seats, a whole section of one carriage is out of use to allow the conductor to carry out their duties. All the conductor does is walk through this area to get between the doors and the rear cab, there is no reason why it couldn’t be used by passengers.

The train is pretty busy so I sat in a cold down seat by a set of doors towards the middle of the train. Conductor not happy and asked me to move as at some stations she has to dispatch the train from that set of doors which would mean she was only centimetres from me which would be unsafe for me...

The conductor keeps walking through the train barking at people (mainly school kids to be fair) for not wearing a mask. There are of, of course, no ticket checks or announcements about where the next call is, apologising for the late departure etc.

I never thought I’d say this but hank god my local trains are operated by GTR rather than Northern....

 

[Markdvdman]

Well on tfw rail services now there are no cannot sit here signs on the seats. Surprising that they are not like the buses one can sit on any double seat mind you!

 

[AdamWW]

Well on tfw rail services now there are no cannot sit here signs on the seats. Surprising that they are not like the buses one can sit on any double seat mind you!

It's odd - unlike on buses in the absence of seat signs they don't seem to want to offer any rules as to where to sit.

 

[Markdvdman]

Very true that although National Express do tell you to sit on a window seat!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Very true that although National Express do tell you to sit on a window seat!

Stagecoach seem to be marking out a sort of "chessboard" pattern, which I observed makes no sense, as while I was further from the person in the window in front sat in the aisle, the gap in the seats meant they would appear to be less protected from my exhalations than if I was sat directly behind them with the seat back in the way.

 

[AdamWW]

Stagecoach seem to be marking out a sort of "chessboard" pattern, which I observed makes no sense, as while I was further from the person in the window in front sat in the aisle, the gap in the seats meant they would appear to be less protected from my exhalations than if I was sat directly behind them with the seat back in the way.

And means that you have no gain in capacity from people who are allowed to sit together.

 

[Bletchleyite]

TBH, to me, "one person per double seat unless from the same household" makes most sense. And is the default anyway unless the bus or train is rammed, so you don't need to enforce it. It's like urinal etiquette - nobody chooses one next to someone unless they have to, closing some off is pointless.

 

[Scott W]

I guess it could come to that. Dependant upon the urgency of getting to my destination in time I'd be prepared to take that risk. And if I did get turfed off then I guess it's the kind of story that the rags are interested in, so might actually help stop such nonsense going forward.
But would a call like that really get a response from the BTP, other than laughter or being told to go forth an multiply?
"Yes, I've asked him to swap seats with his 6 year old son... No, he won't move, says his son likes looking out of the window and that he's happy with the aisle seat. No, no he isn't being aggressive, just refuses to swap seats... Why? Well, just because I want him to. Can you come right away please?"
Really?

Finally had a reply back from XC, which does go in to some detail and concludes by noting that this is certainly not the action we expect our staff to be taking and not part of the company policy. The Senior Manager has clearly emphasised this to the member of staff to ensure that it doesn't happen again. Please be assured that appropriate action has been taken to make sure it does not happen again.

 

[trebor79]

Well that at least is encouraging. Actually I was on a GA train a coupe of week ago and there was some sort of announcement about only using window seats "to allow people to move safely through the train to us the toilet". There were about half a dozen of us on a 4 car 755, so it was a bit moot in any case, but I sat in an aisle seat just for devilment (and the windows were so filthy there was no view to be enjoyed anyway).

 

[route101]

Scotrail on the 156s put the tray tables down on 156s to block the airline seats.

 

[DB]

I've been on four Northern trains today. Do they actually have any strategy as to which seats get to wear the out of use sashes? A 331 this morning had them on probably half the seats leading to people bunching up in the standing space by the doors. A 195, 158 and now another 331 have nowhere near as many.