Public Transport: Coronavirus

(asked on 25th June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to ensure that public transport workers (a) feel safe going to work and (b) are given priority access to covid-19 testing.


Answered by
Chris Heaton-Harris Portrait
Chris Heaton-Harris
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
This question was answered on 3rd July 2020

The Department is working closely with the wider transport sector, including operators and trade unions, on the implementation of the Safer Transport guidance that aims to help organisations, agencies and others (such as self-employed transport providers) understand how to provide safe workplaces and services (the guidance can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-transport-guidance-for-operators).

The guidance sets out how employers can advise staff and passengers on maintaining good hand hygiene and on ways to keep their distance from other people as much as possible, including, for example, through using screens, staggering departures and arrival times, and reducing the use of face to face seating if possible.

It also outlines that staff should wear a face covering when they are unable to maintain social distancing in passenger facing roles, while recognising that there will be exceptional circumstances when a staff member cannot wear a face covering, or when their task makes it sensible (based on a risk assessment) for them not to wear a face covering.

The Secretary of State for Transport is committed to ensuring that every transport worker who requires testing has access. The Department is engaging closely with stakeholders and DHSC to ensure that a robust testing process is in place for transport workers, whilst recognising that priority needs to be given to patient care, front-line healthcare staff and social care workers. Everyone in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with COVID-19 symptoms can get tested. Antigen testing, or testing for current infection, is currently available through home delivery kits, regional test sites, satellite sites and mobile testing centres throughout the country.

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