In this morning’s Times Red Box, I’ve written about how government needs to be much clearer with its message to commuters and the transport sector at large.
In the midst of a public health crisis government advice must be clear and coherent, and when we look at the bus sector that is simply not the case. Government should have issued guidelines weeks ago to keep these vital key workers safe.
We must all work together to keep each other safe, but we need to hear more from government on the vital role transport will play and how it will secure the financial future of the sector so we can get people moving again.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/…/commuters-will-need-to-mind-th…
The coronavirus has fundamentally changed our way of life, not just in the short term but how we live. We owe our transport workers and other key workers a great debt, they have kept the country moving in the most difficult of circumstances.
But thanks and praise are not enough; we also need the Government to come up with a realistic plan of what life outside the lockdown looks like.
Clearly, public health is paramount. We must be led by the science, but that advice must be transparent so we can test the political decisions that flow from it. If the evidence shows that social distancing is the right way forward at least in the medium term, as it surely is, then the Government must ensure our public transport services get the financial support they need to continue to operate. Each sector will be different, but they will share a common challenge; keeping services running and keeping afloat, while keeping people safe.
For example, the Government isn’t providing anywhere near enough support for locally owned and operated metro, Underground and light rail networks. Councils are crying out for a more substantial package to make up for the losses they are incurring. And we have to ensure that money doesn’t go into the pockets of shareholders, but is put back in to the running of these services.
Labour called for the lockdown and we continue to support it. But the Government has not always provided clear, accurate and timely guidance.
Take buses as an example. The fact that different operators have diverging views on the best approach is confusing. It is imperative that the Government publishes and publicises clear guidance for operators, Mayors and drivers. It should provide answers to key questions, such as whether drivers should be handling cash, whether deposit boxes should be installed to receive coins, or whether there should now be a total ban on using cash on buses completely. We need to know if drivers and support staff should be issued with gloves, masks, and other PPE items as standard and, if so, what specification this PPE should be and how it will be distributed to the frontline quickly and efficiently.
On our trains and light rail services, the Government must be clear about the kind of social distancing needed and how any staggered usage would work in practice. If this happens then we need to know whether there should be different charges for peak and off peak, or if this would just incentivise too many people to take the first train after the peak, or whether peak time restrictions should be suspended completely.
It seems clear that the fragmentation of our rail and bus networks has exacerbated the problem, hindering the flow of information from the Government down to drivers, and from the frontline back up to officials and ministers. Labour has proposed a national operators’ forum consisting of Government ministers, operators, and unions.
We are living through unprecedented and challenging times. The onus is on all of us to keep each other safe. But as we emerge from the lockdown, however slowly, we need to hear more from the Government about the vital role transport will play and how it will put the sector back on a secure financial footing so we can get people and our country moving again.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 