Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Coronavirus: New rules aim to restore confidence in Scotland’s public transport network

Post Thumbnail

Face masks will be required for passengers and staff on Scotland’s buses, trains and some ferries as the coronavirus lockdown is eased.

The new rule was announced by the Scottish Government as part of a “transition plan” to restart a public transport network that has almost ground to a halt in recent weeks.

The pandemic has led to demand for services falling by up to 95% against the pre-virus levels and ministers want to try to begin rebuilding confidence in the sector.

Michael Matheson, Transport Secretary.

But with physical distancing measures to remain in place for the first three phases of the Scottish Government’s “route map” out of lockdown, capacity on the network is expected to be at just between 10% and 25% of normal levels for the next few weeks.

On trains it will be down to 12% of previous use, while on ferries it could range from 15% to 20% and cause a “significant impact to timetables”.

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said the government was working to increase the number of services on many transport routes, and he announced that a ÂŁ10 million fund to create new cycle lanes and expanded walkways would be increased to ÂŁ30m.

However, to ease pressure on the scaled-back services, he urged workers to remain at home if possible, or to try to avoid peak periods where travel could not be avoided.

Businesses have also been told to be flexible about staff working times.

Stressing the “need for personal responsibility”, Mr Matheson reminded passengers to retain a physical distance wherever possible, wash hands regularly, and he said that “people should, and are expected to, wear face coverings as an additional measure”.

Mr Matheson said: “Today, I am urging employers, operators and the public to embrace these changes and help us all adapt to a new environment which has flexible and remote working at its core, for the immediate future at least, flattens peak travel demand and has a strong focus on active travel.”

However, Labour’s Colin Smyth suggested the plan was “half-baked” and questioned how the measures would be enforced.

He added: “It is not good enough for the SNP government to hope that company bosses will show leniency with their staff’s schedules.

“It is not good enough to hope that transport workers will be safe because passengers have been asked to wear face coverings.

“If the government believes face coverings are necessary to stop the further spread of Covid-19, then they must explain how this will be enforced.”

The impact of social distancing rules could mean a reduction to only 18% of normal passenger carrying capacity across the CalMac network, and of 15% to 20% on Serco NorthLink vessels.

There could be a “significant impact on timetables given the need for longer turnarounds at some ports”, the Transport Scotland guidance stated.

A CalMac ferry serving the Outer Hebrides.

Orkney’s Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur said: “In terms of our ferry services, the easing of the current restrictions will have to be handled carefully.

“It will also have to be done in close collaboration with local authorities and consultation with the island communities directly affected.

“Ferry services remain a lifeline for those who live in island communities such as Orkney.

“As decisions about when and how to ease travel restrictions are taken, the safety of passengers, crew and the wider public must continue to be the overriding consideration.”