Friday 17 April 2020

London Buses follow various cities worldwide on restricting front door boarding during Covid-19 pandemic

It has been a while since I’ve posted a new article on my website so here’s the recent news update for London Buses.

After the tragic deaths of 21 London Transport workers, including 15 bus drivers from the Coronavirus, bus union ‘Unite’ has pressured TfL to restrict boarding to middle doors only to maintain social distancing between drivers and passengers.

Therefore TfL has finally imposed a fleet wide middle door only boarding policy after a 1 week trial of routes operating out of Abellio’s Walworth bus garage. This has caused the suspension of the front door only boarding rollout for the New Routemaster buses.

Also passengers will not have to touch in (or pay) when boarding the bus using the middle doors.

  • Middle-door only boarding is one of a range of measures to keep drivers safe during the pandemic
  • Bus drivers are playing a vital role in transporting critical workers during the national emergency and nobody else should be travelling
Buses in London will temporarily become middle-door only boarding from Monday 20 April as part of Transport for London's (TfL's) efforts to help combat coronavirus. This change will further improve safety for bus drivers and critical workers as passengers will only be able to board using the centre doors of buses, enabling better social distancing while the city is fighting the virus.

The change to boarding will provide better protection for drivers, who are playing a vital role in helping other critical workers, like doctors and nurses, to tackle the virus. The safety boost follows a trial on nine routes to ensure that it was safe for all. From observing passengers across the 140 buses involved in the trial, TfL is also confident that the low number of people currently using the network can keep a safe distance when entering and exiting through the same door. This is possible as TfL and the Mayor have repeatedly reminded everyone that public transport is only for absolutely essential journeys. This has seen the number of people on buses plummet by around 85 per cent.

During the period of these temporary arrangements where passengers enter through the middle-doors, they will not be required to touch in. Customers should not approach the card reader near the driver's cab.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:
'I am extremely grateful to all our heroic transport workers for the fantastic job they do day in and day out keeping our city moving and helping key workers get to where they are needed most.

'I'm really pleased that TfL will be introducing middle-door only boarding across the London bus network from Monday following a successful trial. This will further protect drivers and follows on from enhancing the anti-viral cleaning regime across the network, adding a new protective film to the screens of drivers' cabs, and preventing passengers sitting next to bus drivers.

'I will continue to do whatever it takes to keep our heroic transport workers as safe as possible. But I would like to remind Londoners that you shouldn't be travelling by any mode of transport unless it is absolutely necessary, and public transport is only open for critical workers.'

Claire Mann, TfL's Director of Bus Operations, said:

'Bus drivers are pivotal in ensuring critical workers like NHS staff and grocery workers can perform the vital roles they do during this national emergency.

'Their efforts are nothing short of heroic, and it is essential that we leave no stone unturned when looking to protect them. Extending middle-door only boarding across the bus network will add another layer of protection on top of the other robust safeguards in place.

'Even with these significant safety enhancements I would like to remind Londoners to stay at home to ensure that critical workers and London's bus drivers can get around the city safely.'

Pete Kavanagh, Unite London and Eastern Regional Secretary, said:

'This is a very welcome move and we are very relieved that TfL is listening to Unite and its members. We have lost members of our bus family in recent days and we refuse to lose any more.

'Unite has been asking for central boarding as an essential safety measure during these times because bus workers are, understandably, fearful for their health. It is reassuring that the Mayor and TfL have listened and acted now to protect this workforce.

'We have 20,000 bus workers across the capital. They have lost colleagues and friends in recent weeks. They need to see all the support that they can muster from the Mayor, the employers and TfL so that they can assure their loved ones that they are being kept safe at work.'

The new operation of buses builds on the enhanced social distancing measures already introduced by TfL after working closely with the trade union Unite. This includes signage asking passengers not to sit in the seats near the driver's cab, improvements to the protective screen that shields drivers and regular announcements to reinforce the need to keep a safe space from others. TfL is also exploring what more can be done to create a completely sealed partition between drivers and passengers that allows for both communication and ventilation.

TfL has also introduced a rigorous cleaning regime to kill the virus across TfL's services using new, anti-viral fluid in stations, depots, bus garages, trains and on buses, including the driver's cab.

Middle-door boarding arrangements will be kept under review and will need to be adjusted as the Government reviews in future the travel restrictions currently in place across the country.

Notes to editors:
  • Middle-door only boarding will operate until further notice as the country tackles coronavirus
  • TfL is funding enhanced sick pay for bus staff who are suffering from COVID-19 symptoms, or have to self-isolate for up to 14 days because someone in their household has symptoms. This is to ensure drivers don't feel forced to attend work for financial reasons when they shouldn't, while ensuring we have sufficient drivers to maintain the service for critical workers.
  • The trial of middle-door boarding was on nine Abellio routes that operate out of Walworth bus garage. It included two routes that serve hospitals.
  • Extensive daily cleaning takes place across the network, ensuring that 'touch points' on buses (including steering wheel, poles, doors and handles) are treated with antiviral cleaner (as used elsewhere in TfL) every night after the regular cleaning is completed. Bus garages and rest rooms are similarly treated daily.
  • Social distancing is in place in depots, both for drivers and other staff. Union reps have been stood down to support local managers in enforcing this.
  • Tables and chairs in canteens and other rest areas have been reduced to force social distancing. At bus garages and bus stands/stations additional buses have been parked and designated as staff rest areas.
  • TfL has asked customers to not sit in seats nearest to bus drivers and signage is now out on the network.
  • All drivers on London Buses are shielded from public interaction by a clear protective screen. Enhancements have been made on all buses to ensure this screen provides even higher levels of protection. Announcements are also in place on buses for customers to encourage social distancing.
  • The very latest advice from scientific experts such as the World Health Organisation and Public Health England is that is that clinical personal protective equipment (PPE) is not required in non-care settings and could be counterproductive. This is, however, constantly being reviewed so the Mayor has asked TfL to look into the availability of PPE stock for transport workers in case the advice changes.

Below is a marathon of tweets from various bus operators around the world who have chosen to ban front door boarding. You may well see them retweeted on my Twitter page.






























I express my condolences to the transport workers, health workers and rest of the ‘essential’ workers worldwide who have tragically passed away from the Coronavirus!

I invite you to follow me on Twitter by searching for @CLondoner92 or by clicking on the direct link to my Twitter page here.

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