Coronavirus Implications For London's Transport

Does anyone know if the Met will be retaining the off peak fast trains for the foreseeable future? Or is there a planned end date?

"Be Alert-your country needs lerts"

Starting on Monday 18 May 2020, our intention is to build up service levels and to start operating as much as possible of the pre-COVID-19 working timetables. We’ll no longer use the emergency timetables which have been in place since ‘lockdown’. I stress this is not aimed at encouraging more people to travel on our network. The message to customers is clear: they should avoid public transport where possible. However, we expect there to be an increase in demand resulting from the Government’s approach to lifting lockdown







• We plan to increase Tube service capacity to at least 70 per cent to help maintain social distancing for our customers and for you. To meet the national requirement for social distancing we will only carry 13-15 per cent of our usual passenger numbers. We are currently operating around 60 per cent of the usual peak period service levels



not sure how they going to do 70 percent of service with normal duties and not a emercency timetable but sure they would of worked it all out !!

Sorry Colin, did you say something...

Presumably there will be increases in station control being implemented when the number of intended passengers outnumbers the capacity; wonder if the queues will be as civilised as those outside the supermarket.

Stations closer to london would not see any queue movement in the peak, as very fuw leave trains at stations such as Belsize park or preston road.

What happens if TfL doesn't get a bailout from central government?

There is no way people will queue outside a tube station!

Apparently under the Greater London Authority Act 1999 TfL don't have to run the Tube

They are legally required to:-

Run a minimal bus service for children living more than two miles away from their school.
Run the Woolwich Ferry
Regulate and license the taxi and private hire trade
Some bits of highways maintenance

Just heard on BBC that TfL have been given £1.1bn grant and £500m loan

The Mayor of London has agreed to put fares up every year from January 2021.

According to the BBC News article the 1% above inflation fare rise has been "offered". It is listed separately from things agreed:

So it is not clear that the fate rise is set in stone.

The interesting part is that this is being agreed as a '100% return of services'... so is Night Tube returning?

Although I would fully expect any financial review to identify that it remains to be a complete white elephant, whatever some will say.

I can’t see how it can include Night Tube, as it’s almost certain the Night Tube train operators are going to be used to top up the day numbers. It’s essentially the only way they can even hope to make a viable attempt at doing a normal weekday WTT service.

*Unless* something gives, if the shielded people remain so into the medium term, and training can’t resume, I’d say this seals Night Tube’s fate. Good riddance in my opinion, I’d certainly crack open a champagne to celebrate its demise.

Alas, the two are not mutually exclusive. My understanding is that the secondments being offered to Night Tube operators still require them to cover their Friday/Saturday night turns (although quite how this can give any reasonable sort of rostering of rest days and shift patterns defeats me). Indeed, it would be difficult to offer a 'normal' service on Friday/Saturday nights and Saturday/Sunday morning as many first/last trains are covered by TO23s. Any such secondments are also for (initially?) limited to a 12-week period.

I don’t disagree, but just putting out the fact as they currently stand. I’m firmly in camp ‘No to Night Tube’ and have been since day one.

The staffing and training resources are the big unknown that no-one is taking about. My own part of the business was running on overtime prior to Covid and that shows no signs of letting up soon - as one of the few Instructors I’ve also been given no assurances as to how we can safely deliver local training in the cabins. This obviously extends also to trains and stations etc, and of course classroom based stuff itself. A lot of trainers are shielding AIUI too which further depletes resources... and then there will be the backlog of the annual rules tests/refresher training and the like.

As I’ve said on recruitment threads elsewhere, I doubt we will be seeing any new intakes for some time unless areas become absolutely desperate.