Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to use public transport capacity monitoring technology to help restore public confidence in the public transport network during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Department maintains regular contact with transport operators on a range of issues affecting the network, including capacity and messaging during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The rail industry supported by government is taking a variety of approaches to keep passengers informed about what’s happening across the rail network. National Rail Enquiries (NRE) is making a range of real time updates available across its platforms based on operational train data provided by the train operators and industry systems. Additionally, the NRE Alert Me service as announced by the Secretary of State at a No10 press conference on May 23^rd helps passengers to stagger their journeys and avoid busy hotspots on the rail network, allowing passengers to travel safely and maintain social distancing.

To manage the expected increased demand for public transport, the Department is seeking to provide travel demand management support to local authorities in England outside London. However, it is clear that solutions must be locally led between transport authorities and operators.