'No mask no ride': Northampton council leader warns residents that rules must be followed on town's public transport

The leader of the borough council is warning that the message for residents using Northampton's public transport is: 'No mask, no ride'.

The role public transport, as well as car sharing, has played in Northampton's rising coronavirus infection rate is under scrutiny this week following an outbreak of nearly 300 cases at the Greencore factory in Moulton Park.

At a press conference on Friday, Northamptonshire's Director of Health Lucy Wightman pointed to car sharing, house-sharing and socialising outside of work as the "likely" cause of the spread.

However, the borough council's leader Jonathan Nunn also used the conference to ask residents that respecting Covid-19 restrictions on public transport was "vitally important" to bringing the town's infection rate down to national averages.

Councillor Nunn said: "The message to people on buses is simple - no mask, no ride.

“It’s absolutely essential they wear a mask when they get on and while they get off the bus.

"Let's be absolutely honest, the 293 cases in this recent outbreak is absolutely dreadful."

Mr Nunn said bus drivers should not feel uncomfortable about refusing to let people on buses and urged other passengers to support them.

He added he has been "amazed" by the number of people who have come forward with concerns about bus stops.

A spokesperson for Stagecoach Midlands said: "We have extensive additional safety measures in place so our services are fully Covid-19 secure, but we also need customers to follow the new rules to keep everybody safe.

"We are pleased that we have seen a significant increase in the number of passengers wearing face coverings on our buses and our drivers have been doing a great job in continuing to encourage people to follow the new rules.

"In addition, we have also had support staff out on the ground reminding customers of the importance of following all the rules in place around face coverings and social distancing at bus stops and on buses.

"Whilst our drivers and staff can remind people of the rules, only the police have the power to take enforcement action against people who refuse to wear a face covering without a legitimate reason, and we would welcome any police support to further stress the importance of this requirement."