Passengers advised to leave peak travel times to key workers

Passengers using buses, trains or the Tube to shop or to visit attractions as lockdown eases on Monday June 15 are advised to avoid peak times so it is clear for key workers.

Travellers must wear a face covering on their nose and mouth for their entire journey, including in stations.

Face coverings should also be worn by everyone in taxis.

Transport for London is distributing face coverings at some Tube and bus stations, as well as providing advice on how to make your own and encouraging in-station retailers to supply them. Since Monday around 30,000 face coverings have been distributed during the morning peak.

Govia Thamslink are also telling passengers to

• Book tickets online and use contactless payments

• keep your distance

• Carry hand sanitiser and wash your hands before and after travelling

The firm is running a reduced service because staffing levels have been affected by coronavirus – but adding extra services and lengthening trains when NHS workers and others have sent in reports of busy trains – which will also happen from Monday.

There are extra early morning services and evening peak trains, plus extra carriages in the morning and evening peak on the busy Southern route between Epsom and London Victoria via Sutton. Passengers should check their services at www.nationalrail.co.uk

GTR is supporting social distancing with a wide range of measures:

• One-way and queuing systems at the busiest stations, with 19,000 floor signs across the network, 25,000 train signs, posters, adverts and announcements to remind people to socially distance

• 1,000 touch-free hand sanitiser points have been put in at stations

• We have developed a staff app to monitor passenger volumes and movements to identify ‘hot spots’ across the network – uses data from trains, ticket sales, ticket gates, and from staff seeing where social distancing may not be being observed. We can also use this to modify our service where possible

To keep passengers and staff safe, there is an enhanced cleaning regime focused on touch points (see photos and video below):

• All 2,700 train carriages are sanitised every night and…

• … GTR has treated all its trains with a powerful new viruscide which sticks to surfaces, killing viruses for up to 30 days.

• This product is also being used to treat stations, offices and other staff locations such as depots.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “From this Monday, it will be mandatory for Londoners to wear a face covering when travelling on public transport. This will make our network safer for everybody – particularly when maintaining a social distance is not always possible.

“As restrictions on non-essential retail are gradually eased and more Londoners return to their workplaces, next week we can expect a small increase in footfall across the network. To meet this additional demand, TfL has been working extremely hard to build services back up to where they were before many of their staff were affected by the coronavirus. This week more than 90 per cent of peak weekday services have been operating and this will continue to increase as more staff return from illness or isolation.

“However, it’s clear life simply won’t return to how it was before. Even when public transport returns to a full pre-pandemic service it will still only be able to carry 13-15 per cent of the typical number of Tube passengers to enable social distancing. I’m urging Londoners to continue avoiding the transport network and continue working from home wherever possible to keep it free for those who need it. When journeys need to be made, consider whether they can be cycled or walked.”