(07 Sep 2020, 1:59 pm)Adrian wrote I think its worth pointing out that this appears to be rife across multiple operators - its not specific to one operator, and I'd actually say GNE have been one of the better operators in terms of signage and such.

What doesn't help is that the guidelines from Government aren't great. There's too much room for interpretation and in my opinion they aren't strict enough. Face coverings are there to protect others - not the wearer. If someone isn't able to wear a mask for whatever reason, that is fine, but they must remain 2m apart from others. People just don't seem to understand this and that the coverings are mitigation for 1m+

I travelled by LNER last week and I thought what they have done, at least on paper, is spot on. All services requiring a mandatory reservation, then only certain seats being available to book. This is of course all good and well, but then you're told that the Guard will spend the entirety of the journey in their own non-public coach, so in reality seat occupation and face coverings aren't enforced.

On the flip-side of that, you have Transpennine Express. Contained in a laughably named page of 'Keeping You Safe', they state: "Due to social distancing guidelines, there will be space for no more than half the usual number of passengers and it may not be possible to socially distance at all points throughout a journey." They are not forcing seat reservations, restricting capacity or anything else.

I completely understand why drivers aren't challenging this. Certainly from GNE, Arriva and Metro's responses I've seen on Social Media, they're suggesting that they *cannot* enforce this. This is incorrect though - operators do have the powers of enforcement under the regulations, but also points out that they're not obliged to use those powers. So this isn't a case of *cannot* - it's a case of *will not*. If the operators have made that operational decision, then we as customers cannot expect their employees to enforce. I posted about this in another thread.

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Totally agree with the point that mask wearing is to protect others not the mask wearer. 

To compare the enforcement of mask wearing and fare paying is like comparing apple and pears though. 

if you are on the bus you must have some form of ticket or pass.  There are no real exceptions to this (Not leaving vulnerable people at bus stops is the exception that proves the rule!)

As soon as exemptions were made for mask wearing though, with no need to provide any proof except the passengers word, enforcement became impossible.  Yes, drivers can challenge, but people will either lie, or rely on the fact that if they get on the bus, and the driver contacts the police, it is highly unlikely they will attend in a timely manner.  

if none mask wearers had to provide some sort of official ‘pass’ - properly issued by some authority,  I think you could more or less guarantee that the wearing of face masks would be enforced.  

Don’t blame the operators or their drivers for not enforcing flawed guidelines