27th January - Plan B easing - observations and usage

[Class 33]

On the service 36 bus from London Victoria-London Paddington, only about 25 percent of passengers wearing masks!

Paddington station only about 15 percent of people wearing masks!

On the 2350 London Paddington-Penzance sleeper, zero people wearing masks in my carriage! Mind you, I'm the only one in the carriage so far.

 

[yorkie]

Just a reminder this thread is for observations.

I did a trip to Newcastle yesterday. The vast majority of passengers were unmasked despite LNER announcing that masks were "compulsory" and threatening fines on the 1801 out of Newcastle. I was going to challenge the Guard but other people I was with didn't want me to, so she got away with it (this time).

We also got a couple of buses; the first bus had some older passengers who wore masks but the majority were unmasked. Later in the afternoon there were very few people masked. At the stations the vast majority of people were unmasked.

It felt good to be almost fully back to normal again.

I'm going to Morrisons tomorrow and I hope not to see many masks; it really is dystopian to see masked people and we need to get away from that.

 

[DelayRepay]

I did some shopping yesterday, and it was very odd.

In Tesco, mask wearing was probably around 50% or maybe a bit lower. Certainly less than it's been in recent weeks, anyway.

In the shop next door, which sells home stuff (towels, saucepans etc), it was almost 100% masked. It was like going back in time to Summer 2020 when the mandate was first introduced. And in Wilko, on the same retail park, again almost 100% masked. I was surprised that it was so different in three shops that are all part of the same retail park.

 

[Bantamzen]

Was out and about around Bradford & Shipley over the weekend. Generally face coverings in shops seemed down on previous weekends, but oddly there seemed to be more people wearing masks outside than previously. This all changed when I got to Valley Parade for the football, practically no masks inside or out in a crowd of around 14.5K people. Pity we chucked the game away...

 

[Howardh]

Had an e-mail this morning from TfL which, no doubt, a million others have had. First three paragraphs quoted below; so it does look like there's one law for TfL and another for everyone else.

Love to know under what by-laws or regualtions are they allowed to do this - if they are at all??

Dear...

As the Government's 'Plan B' restrictions are lifted and regulations are relaxed across England from Thursday 27 January, we are reminding customers that face coverings continue to be required on TfL services.

Those who do not wear face coverings may be prevented from using our services or asked to leave the network, unless they are exempt.

We are grateful that the vast majority of people have followed the rules to help control the virus, keeping each other and our staff safe. We ask you to continue to do so.

Are they sending out these emails because - quight rightly - many are not wearing masks now at all so they want to put their foot down?

 

[Hadders]

Had an e-mail this morning from TfL which, no doubt, a million others have had. First three paragraphs quoted below; so it does look like there's one law for TfL and another for everyone else.

Love to know under what by-laws or regualtions are they allowed to do this - if they are at all??





Are they sending out these emails because - quight rightly - many are not wearing masks now at all so they want to put their foot down?

It is a condition of carriage on TfL but all they can do if you don’t comply is deny you entry or ask you to leave. This is what the email says.

It has no legal weight. They cannot prosecute or issue a fixed penalty notice.

 

[island]

TfL are allowed to send emails to anyone who has opted into receiving them.

It is part of the TfL conditions of carriage that face coverings are to be worn on stations and trains. They cannot issue fines* merely for failure to follow this condition.

*I am using the term "fines" in the normal everyday sense of the word rather than its narrow technical legal meaning.

It has no legal weight. They cannot prosecute or issue a fixed penalty notice.

I would politely differ from the latter point. A person who has been asked to quit the railway or any station and refuses to do so can be prosecuted under section 16 of the Railway Regulation Act 1840.

(This is probably unlikely to happen in practice.)

 

[ChrisC]

I did some shopping yesterday, and it was very odd.

In Tesco, mask wearing was probably around 50% or maybe a bit lower. Certainly less than it's been in recent weeks, anyway.

In the shop next door, which sells home stuff (towels, saucepans etc), it was almost 100% masked. It was like going back in time to Summer 2020 when the mandate was first introduced. And in Wilko, on the same retail park, again almost 100% masked. I was surprised that it was so different in three shops that are all part of the same retail park.

I’m also finding it all very odd and with no real pattern to it all. Last week I had a few days away using a 3 Day Thames Rover. One of the days I spent wandering around Marlow, Henley on Thames and Windsor and I haven’t seen such a high percentage of mask wearing for months both inside shops and out in the street. It was like going back to summer 2020. Around some of the smaller villages like a Pangbourne and Goring and up into the Cotswolds takeaway drinks were very much ordered from outside hatches through perspex screens. Very high percentage of people wearing masked on GWR services out of Paddington and on the branches even on Thursday and Friday after the restrictions were lifted.

Far less mask wearing on my return journey home to Nottingham with EMR and walking across Nottingham including through the a shopping centre seemed almost back to normal. Perhaps there is a bit of a north south difference or even a difference between more and less affluent areas.

 

[Jamiescott1]

I’m also finding it all very odd and with no real pattern to it all. Last week I had a few days away using a 3 Day Thames Rover. One of the days I spent wandering around Marlow, Henley on Thames and Windsor and I haven’t seen such a high percentage of mask wearing for months both inside shops and out in the street. It was like going back to summer 2020. Around some of the smaller villages like a Pangbourne and Goring and up into the Cotswolds takeaway drinks were very much ordered from outside hatches through perspex screens. Very high percentage of people wearing masked on GWR services out of Paddington and on the branches even on Thursday and Friday after the restrictions were lifted.

Far less mask wearing on my return journey home to Nottingham with EMR and walking across Nottingham including through the a shopping centre seemed almost back to normal. Perhaps there is a bit of a north south difference or even a difference between more and less affluent areas.

I live in marlow and haven't noticed a particular high number of mask wearers.

Arriva bus 800 on Saturday and there was a definite generational split with older people wearing masks.

 

[3rd rail land]

On a TFL bus currently and mask wearing, on the lower deck at least, is very high. 5 of the 7 passengers are masked. Was the same story on other buses I've been on since Thursday.

 

[Phil R]

Guildford Waitrose update: still 80-85% masked, the Unbelievers are not making much headway here.

 

[yorkie]

I went to Morrisons on my way back from work today and the majority of customers and vast majority of staff were unmasked

 

[Cdd89]

My local Sainsbury’s still has an outdated sign on the front saying masks are ‘mandatory’, but compliance is below 25%.

 

[SouthEastBuses]

@yorkie Have you received my latest message? Faresaver, a Wiltshire bus company, still continues to mandate masks despite them no longer being legally required.

 

[DannyMich2018]

Mask wearing on trains can vary I've noticed. Fairly busy 5 car 222 had around half in our carriage masked. Less so on the Birmingham 170 from Leicester. Still lots on the buses and Tesco Sat lunchtime had about 60% masked. I don't have a problem with people wearing them it's their decision if they want to or not.

 

[ChrisC]

@yorkie Have you received my latest message? Faresaver, a Wiltshire bus company, still continues to mandate masks despite them no longer being legally required.

The most ridiculous example of mandatory mask wearing was when I went on a day trip to the Isles of Scilly on the Scillonian ferry last October. Bearing in mind October was before Plan B and mask wearing was not mandatory on public transport at that time. I didn’t even get as far as the boarding the ferry before being told that I must wear a mask as passengers were told they must wear a mask to even step onto the quayside. It is a 3 hour sailing and passengers have to check in at least 30 minutes before departure and on board there were announcements that masks must be worn at all times and that included outside on the decks. The ferry company had mandatory mask wearing as part of their terms and conditions for travel and as far as I could see there was 100% compliance by all aboard. There we all sat outside on the top deck in the fresh air and sea breeze out on the open sea for over 3 hours there and 3 hours return wearing masks. Surely it would have been far more healthy for us all to have been exposed to the fresh sea air. I mention this now because I notice that they have updated their terms and conditions from 27th January following the removal of Plan B and once more mandatory mask wearing is to continue.

Although I thought the whole thing absolutely ridiculous I did not let it spoil my day. I could have got angry and worked up about it but didn’t. Many on board were laughing about the stupidity of it on the open deck. For October it was a beautiful clear sunny day, quite warm and with very calm seas. A fantastic sailing with lots of sightings of dolphins and various sea birds. It was my first visit to the Isle with just 4 hours on the main island of St. Mary’s, including a visit to a remote churchyard to see former Prime minister Harold Wilson’s grave. It is somewhere I want to visit again including some of the the smaller more remote islands.

 

[yorkie]

@yorkie Have you received my latest message? Faresaver, a Wiltshire bus company, still continues to mandate masks despite them no longer being legally required.

I recommend all passengers simply say "I am exempt" if challenged; simple. Same applies to TfL (the chance of being challenged on TfL is virtually nil)

And use alternative operators where available.

 

[bramling]

I recommend all passengers simply say "I am exempt" if challenged; simple. Same applies to TfL (the chance of being challenged on TfL is virtually nil)

And use alternative operators where available.

The “hundreds of enforcement officers” are still out and about on TfL, mainly working in booking halls. I got challenged twice last week, though in both cases stating the word exempt ended the exchange.

 

[Class 33]

On the 2350 London Paddington-Penzance sleeper, zero people wearing masks in my carriage! Mind you, I'm the only one in the carriage so far.

Upon departure from Reading, I had a walk through the two Standard Class carriages. Only about 20% of passengers were wearing face masks!

My observations in Penzance....

Tesco - About 65% of customers wearing masks. ALL staff I noticed were wearing masks.

Poundland - About 60% of customers and staff wearing masks.

Some other shops I passed by and looked in had similar sorts of statistics too. A fair number of people even wearing masks on the street too.

On the GWR 1050 Penzance-Cardiff Central service. All the way through Cornwall and Devon, I'd say about 60% of passengers were wearing masks. Though as it ran through Somerset and the Bristol area, I noticed more passengers without masks boarding. By the end of my journey at Bristol Temple Meads, I'd say it had gone down to about 40% wearing masks.

At Bristol Temple Meads. Probably only about 30% of people wearing masks.

On a service to Severn Beach, maybe about 35% of passengers wearing masks.

For some reason Cornwall and Devon is lagging behind most of the country in mask use declining.

 

[90sWereBetter]

Mask wearing is plummeting big time on my bus to work in Norwich. Would say there was about 95% compliance last Wednesday, today it's below 50%.

 

[Eyersey468]

Mask wearing is plummeting big time on my bus to work in Norwich. Would say there was about 95% compliance last Wednesday, today it's below 50%.

Excellent

 

[GC class B1]

Yesterday mask wearing on one bus I saw was over 90%. On the bus I travelled on it was about 10%. I wonder if it is a matter of following the majority.

 

[island]

Minimal masks on Southeastern this morning, but at my destination in the Home Counties it was noticeably higher, with a lot of businesses still displaying signage asking for masks to be worn.

 

[Mojo]

Lady on my LU train just now, boarded at the origin station, wearing a mask, two other people join further along the line both unmasked, so she removes hers

 

[John Luxton]

I mention this now because I notice that they have updated their terms and conditions from 27th January following the removal of Plan B and once more mandatory mask wearing is to continue.

Pleased I read that before making accommodation arrangements for some of my 2022 planned trips, as it is not something I expected.

I used to be a very regular visitor to the IOS for parts of my west country holidays either just for a day trip or for a few days as part of a longer trip to the area.

In 20022 I had been planning on having a few days in Penzance and doing a day trip by SCILLONIAN III and the new helicopter service to see how that compared to the old helicopter service which I used a lot - much more so than the Scillonian due to more convenient departure times and parking facilities.

Just had a look at the Penzance Helicopters site and this is what they say "we continue to ask that passengers wear a face covering throughout their journey, including in our terminals and onboard our aircraft, including after 27th January 2022" now I guess this is just the usual "ask" which other transport operators are doing and not actually mandatory?

I understand that throughout the pandemic Red Funnel Isle of Wight Ferries did not ask for masks on the open deck from people who travelled with them.

Closer to home here in Liverpool I understand the Isle of Man Steam Packet remains maskivist.

I was a very frequent traveller with them - but sadly whilst they insist on masks and the IOM Govt insists on jabs for visitors entering the IOM I won't be travelling.

Looks as though normality when it comes to crossing water is still some way off.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Mask wearing is plummeting big time on my bus to work in Norwich. Would say there was about 95% compliance last Wednesday, today it's below 50%.

Should we say "usage" rather that "compliance" now that it is no longer mandatory?

 

[bramling]

I had the pleasure of a Thameslink journey from London to St Albans this afternoon.

Quite low mask use, I’d say around 20%, on a lightly loaded train. I saw far more masks being worn on Victoria Street during the walk into “town”, which I suppose fits with the Home Counties theory.

 

[SouthEastBuses]

On buses around Oxfordshire, mask wearing has also started to plummet!

The most ridiculous example of mandatory mask wearing was when I went on a day trip to the Isles of Scilly on the Scillonian ferry last October. Bearing in mind October was before Plan B and mask wearing was not mandatory on public transport at that time. I didn’t even get as far as the boarding the ferry before being told that I must wear a mask as passengers were told they must wear a mask to even step onto the quayside. It is a 3 hour sailing and passengers have to check in at least 30 minutes before departure and on board there were announcements that masks must be worn at all times and that included outside on the decks. The ferry company had mandatory mask wearing as part of their terms and conditions for travel and as far as I could see there was 100% compliance by all aboard. There we all sat outside on the top deck in the fresh air and sea breeze out on the open sea for over 3 hours there and 3 hours return wearing masks. Surely it would have been far more healthy for us all to have been exposed to the fresh sea air. I mention this now because I notice that they have updated their terms and conditions from 27th January following the removal of Plan B and once more mandatory mask wearing is to continue.

Although I thought the whole thing absolutely ridiculous I did not let it spoil my day. I could have got angry and worked up about it but didn’t. Many on board were laughing about the stupidity of it on the open deck. For October it was a beautiful clear sunny day, quite warm and with very calm seas. A fantastic sailing with lots of sightings of dolphins and various sea birds. It was my first visit to the Isle with just 4 hours on the main island of St. Mary’s, including a visit to a remote churchyard to see former Prime minister Harold Wilson’s grave. It is somewhere I want to visit again including some of the the smaller more remote islands.

Sorry for the late reply.

This is just absolutely crazy. And this is coming from a person who normally thinks that masks (N95/FFP2 and above) are effective against viruses. Even I have now changed my mind on this - given how Covid is becoming milder and endemic (unlike in 2020), I see no point in wearing a mask now. Indeed, I have completely stopped wearing a mask on public transport as soon as the mandate got lifted. And all I can say is, it was lovely to be able to travel without a mask.

 

[Class 33]

Even though mandatory face mask laws have been scrapped(again!!), I feel there's still some way to go yet until life feels much more back to normal. Due to some transport operators, shops/supermarkets still going on about bloomin' face masks/face coverings and even social distancing!!! Went in the Co-op this morning and a PA announcement going off very similar to what they have in Poundland, which goes something like "At the Co-op the safety of our customers and colleagues is very important. Therefore you may like to continue wearing a face covering and keeping your distance. Co-op. Keeping you safe". And in Sainsbury's a PA announcement "Please wear a face covering if you can, out of courtesy to others. And remember, not everyone will be able to socially distance.". For crying out loud, stop going on about social distancing/keep your distance!! Social distancing guidelines were scrapped 6 and a half months ago!!!! We're in February 2022 now, not July 2020!! Pretty much everyone has moved on from social distancing!!!! Also the PA announcements and signage about face masks/face coverings really need to go now too. These words have become INCREDIBLY grating now.

Here in Bristol, I'm still seeing a number of shops with "Please wear a face covering to enter"(or similar wording) signs on their doors. Whether the shop owners have just forgot to take them down or they're still asking people to wear the darn things to enter their shops, I'm not sure. Though I've noticed a couple of places which now have "We continue to require face coverings to be worn in this shop" signs on their doors. Absolutely ridiculous, and should not be allowed!

I've even noticed a few bakeries round my way which still have actual social distancing measures. Only 2 customers allowed in there at a time, social distancing floor markings, one-way systems, huge high perspex barriers. Absolutely ridiculous.

Some of these companies seem to want mask wearing and even social distancing to continue forever it seems!

I feel there really needs to be a push from government and campaign groups to get all this remaining nonsense from these companies removed ASAP!

 

[Paul Jones 88]

Been on bus 149 Edmonton Green to London Bridge twice this week, I'd estimate about 40 % not wearing masks, me included.
A bloke got on near Tottenham police station, looked at me and pointed at his mask as if to say that I should be wearing one, I just said "that's nice, you've got a blue one" and ignored him.