Peterborough bus passengers ‘breaching coronavirus rules’ by not wearing a face covering

The law changed on Monday, and now anyone travelling on public transport is required to wear a face covering to slow the spread of coronavirus.

However, many readers have contacted the Peterborough Telegraph reporting that a large number of passengers are not wearing a covering.

Paul Tapparno-Clark said: “I was waiting for a bus this morning at 6.30am and three buses came along with 50% customers not wearing masks. Then the Citi 1 service came and let a customer board with no mask and the driver did not challenge the customer.

“I boarded the Citi 5 and luck for me the customers were wearing masks until I arrived at the shopping centre and the driver let the passengers board with no face coverings.”

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A Stagecoach East spokesperson said: “Our experience is that the majority of passengers have been following the new rules. Most passengers are looking to do the right thing and are very supportive of the changes. However, we know that it will take some time for passengers to adapt to this new requirement. As with any change in any part of life there may be instances where people forget or aren’t aware and we are helping our passengers to understand the new guidance.

“We have detailed information on our buses and across our website and social media channels, and we will continue to remind people of the importance of following the new rules to help themselves and their fellow passengers.

“The government has also published a list of categories of people who are exempt from wearing face coverings. Our free journey assistance card is available at stagecoachbus.com and customers can use this as an easy way of showing they come into this category.

“As with many other changes being made as a result of the pandemic, responsibility for complying with the new government regulations lies with individuals themselves. We will continue to appeal to customers to act responsibly and provide them with all the information they need to plan their journeys and use our services safely.”