COMMUTERS are to be urged back on to public transport.
Ministers are preparing to tone down warnings over the use of trains and buses amid criticism from operators and backbench MPs that too many services are running empty.
Over the past three months commuters have been told to use them only when essential.
Now train operators are preparing to run services close to pre-Covid levels on some lines.
The Rail Delivery Group will launch a ten-point “safer travel pledge” including hand sanitiser points at 300 stations.
Enforcement on face coverings will also be stepped up.
A senior rail company source said: “The Government message needs to change so more people are encouraged to travel by train, provided you wear a face covering and avoid the peaks.”
Speaking in the Commons this week Chris Loder MP, said: “The Government’s public messaging to discourage the non-essential use of buses, and of open-access trains for that matter, is deeply damaging commercial routes that rely on public fares to remain viable.”
