Enforcement of masks on Tube risks becoming ‘shambles,’ Andy Byford warns

Imposing mask-wearing on the Tube and buses risks becoming a “shambles” unless the rules are legally enforceable, London’s transport chief has warned.

Andy Byford said he wanted to avoid creating a perception that the Underground was dangerous or having staff “yelled at” for failing to enforce restrictions that were not Government policy.

But the Transport for London commissioner said he was aware that a majority of passengers supported mask-wearing and admitted that a “safe, orderly and clean” environment was vital to attracting people back to public transport.

Ministers have said that the legal requirement to wear face coverings will be scrapped on July 19 but have suggested that transport operators will be able to set their own rules or guidance.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on Friday appeared to back the idea of “rush-hour rules” for mask-wearing and said train companies could impose this as a “condition of carriage”.

Mr Byford said TfL was taking time to “strike the right balance”, and was keen not to be seen as an “outlier”, especially if mask-wearing on mainline trains was scrapped.

He told an Urban Transport Group webinar on Thursday: “We are looking to see what the national rail does, because it would be kind of odd if you can come in on a mainline train to Charing Cross and not wear a mask, and then get on the Tube and have to. That won’t make things any easier for enforcement.

“Around 60-65 per cent of our customers say they feel more secure if everyone is wearing a mask. We should listen to our customers.

“But equally I feel very strongly that I don’t want TfL to be this sole outlier, because what message are you sending? Are you subliminally sending a message: ‘Careful, it’s dangerous down there, you have to wear a mask still’, or ‘It’s dangerous on the buses’? It isn’t.

“We want to make sure we give customers the confidence to come back.

“But equally I don’t want to create a situation where there is huge uncertainty and it becomes a bit of a shambles because we are being yelled at to enforce something which is not that easy to enforce without the backing of legislation.”

The latest weekly London TravelWatch/Transport Focus survey on Friday reveals a slight fall in the number of people saying they won’t use public transport unless social distancing or mask-wearing rules are in place.

However there was also a decline in satisfaction among Tube users with the behaviour of other passengers and the number of people wearing face coverings.

A total of 90 TfL staff and contractors have died with covid. At one stage, Tube ridership was only at five per cent of normal levels. Mr Byford said an earlier lockdown in March last year would have helped.

“We followed Government advice on mask-wearing… we want to make sure those lessons are learned, because we are not out of the thick of this thing any time soon,” he said

Asked how TfL planned to encourage passengers back onto public transport, Mr Byford said: “There are three primary elements. It’s got to be safe – so socially distanced. It’s got to be orderly – people wearing masks. And it’s got to be clean.”

But he added: “If it’s not Government policy and it’s not the law then enforcement de facto becomes a lot more difficult.”

By the end of May, TfL enforcement officers had stopped 188,324 passengers not wearing a face covering or not wearing it correctly.

Of these, 12,176 were refused travel and 3,647 £200 Fixed Penalty Notices were issued.