(19 Aug 2020, 12:02 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Just had a message from a friend on the bus and it looks like drivers are no longer updating the capacity of the vehicle, or bothering with the Bus Full signs.

On the bus she is on, there is at least one person per row and the driver is still letting people on. I tracked the bus on the website and the capacity is still saying "Quiet, this vehicle is mostly empty"

Quite worrying if this is the case.

I mean, on the X21 yesterday it seemed like it was getting quite busy, ie. at least one every other row, and it was still showing as 'Quiet', but I never thought anything of it at the time.

Issue is some of the drivers are showing no care whatsoever and letting on beyond the restricted capacity so their is no social distancing, for myself personally using the 21 coming out of Newcastle on a evening after finishing work is absolutely ridiculous as it is packed, fair enough the driver last night followed procedure to a tee by challenging anyone who did not have a face mask, tallied off on the ticket machine how many was on board but did again allow on board more than the restricted capacity, she only got on the cab and checked downstairs and upstairs prior to leaving Gateshead which is the first and only time in 5 months I have seen this duty of care for passengers taken place even if she was late in doing so.

I think personally some extras on the 21 are needed with immediate effect only issue here is resource, where does that the come from in terms of drivers & buses. From other observations some of the locals in Gateshead such as the 58 seem to have the same issue and I think with social distancing some services now more than ever need to have double deckers or an increase in frequency for continued passenger safety during this difficult time.