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11
Dec 2020
Harrogate bus passenger worried by lack of face masks
When the passenger questioned the driver he said that drivers do not have to enforce any rules or question anyone.
A Harrogate bus passenger has complained to the bus company after finding that more than half of people on board were not wearing face masks.
Chris Hill had just paid his fare on Monday when he realised that only two people out of five on the bus were wearing face masks.
It has been the law to wear face mask on public transport since June but there are some exceptions to the rule.
When Mr Hill questioned the driver he said that drivers do not have to enforce any rules or question anyone.
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Unhappy with that response, he took his complaint to the parent company of the Harrogate Bus Company Transdev and the Stray Ferret. He said:
"I think that if you drive around with a sign saying the buses are clean and safe then you have to enforce this. It's not a problem on trains.
"When someone gets on the bus they should be able to prove that they have an exemption. If not the driver should refuse entry.
"If the bus driver cannot enforce the rules then they should make that clear to other passengers who may feel at risk. It's difficult but more can be done."
Frank Stanisauskis, the general manager of The Harrogate Bus Company, said:
"Since the rules came into place in June we’ve taken several steps to make sure all our customers know that, unless they are exempt, they need to wear a face covering.
"That includes giving away free face coverings, selling our own reusable ones in our bus station shop, adding notices visible when customers board and alongside every row of seats on the bus, as well as including information about face coverings to our audio announcements on board.
"Because the Government has allowed some broad exemptions to the face covering rules, many of which relate to disabilities or difficulties which are not visible, we do still expect to see customers on board who aren’t wearing one.
Buses are clean and safe – reported as ‘the safest places on earth’ by leading scientists, and backed up by national and international studies into covid-19. We can reassure any customer, that when they are on board our buses we’ve taken every precaution to ensure their safety and that of our driving and cleaning teams."
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