Bus company responds to reader's letter about "terrifying" journey in Northampton

Stagecoach has reached out to reassure a Chronicle & Echo reader following a "terrifying" journey across Northampton.

Jan Ennis-Clark wrote to the paper after travelling on a No 5 bus saying: "The driver had no mask, other people had masks below their chins, there was no social distancing, it was overcrowded and there were no windows open to aid ventilation."

But bus operator Stagecoach insists it is doing all it can and has been recognised for its work to keep passengers safe on board during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Read the full reply from Stagecoach to Chron reader's letter HEREA reply from Stagecoach received today said: "Face coverings on buses has become a point of tension for our staff and customers.

"It’s a shame that a minority of people are not following the guidelines.

"It is hard to believe that people are not aware of the need to wear a covering on public transport. We make it clear on all our services and our drivers are continually reminding people they should be wearing a mask when travelling.

"We know that some people are exempt under Government guidelines but we are asking users of our services to be considerate to others, follow the guidance and wear a covering.

"The police have the powers to enforce the regulations by fining those not wearing face coverings as required. We have alerted them to where we are seeing the biggest issues with customers not wearing a face covering and asked for their support, but it will be a shame if it needs the police to enforce this and issue fines."

Bus drivers, like shopworkers and hospitality staff, are not required to wear face coverings if they are behind Perspex screens.

The Stagecoach reply went on: "Our drivers want to keep you safe whilst they are driving, we don’t want them to be distracted by trying to keep a check on whether people have still got their face coverings on.

"That’s why we are asking our customers to be responsible and follow the guidance.

"We know that keeping shared areas well ventilated is also important to help fight coronavirus. We are in the process of adding further signage to our buses to encourage windows to be left open to aid ventilation as we have started to see windows being closed as summer has ended.

"With colder weather setting in, this might not be to everyone's liking, but again we are asking for our customers to show understanding and work with us.

"All our services are running with reduced capacities to make sure people can social distance whilst travelling.

"We have moved our fleet around and even hired in some extra buses to make sure we have our biggest buses where we see the highest demand. We’ve also increased frequencies with some now running more often than they did before.

"No one wants to be left behind and no driver wants to leave people behind. As passenger numbers continue to grow we will do our best to provide the capacity needed to carry everyone. However people can help by using our busy bus checker app to see when buses are quietest and where possible use a slightly earlier or later bus.

"Ultimately people can use our bus services with confidence.

"All of our services have been accredited with Visit Britain’s “We’re Good to Go” official mark, recognising the work we have done and the processes we have introduced to meet government and industry Covid-19 guidelines."