Arriva blog: Chiltern Railways MD on the importance of mass transit in the age of Covid-19

As with every sector, public transport has been hit hard by the global public health crisis. The necessary travel restrictions have had an immediate and significant impact on the number of people travelling on our bus and train networks. At Chiltern Railways, we were bringing around 15,000 people into London every morning pre-COVID 19. Overnight, that dropped to around 300.

I am proud of all my Arriva colleagues across Europe, not just the UK, for keeping essential bus and train services running to allow key workers get to where they need to be to help in the fight against COVID-19, and to ensure the safety of everyone while they do so. But the more challenging work will actually come as we gradually transition out of the lockdown into a new normal, and I cover off some of these points on the webinar, including how the pandemic might impact future demand for public transport in the longer term.

Whilst the pandemic has been an unwelcome disruption into our lives, it has reminded us just how important public transport is as a means for people to social connect, and as an economic enabler.

As and when the Government begins to ease restrictions on the lockdown, it will be critical that mass transport can function effectively – and by that, I mean that people feel safe using it and that they use it responsibly. Going from zero to 100 overnight should not be an option, because if on day one of ramping services back up people are getting onto crowded bus or trains and feel unsafe, they will not return on day two and that will impact the speed at which our economy can recover. 

On the webinar I talk about what we are doing to prepare for an increase in service levels that can support a gradual reopening of the economy, whilst enabling staff and passengers to socially distance. Every touchpoint on our customers’ journey is being risk assessed and measures put in place to ensure everyone’s safety can be protected.  Under current social distancing guidance, we will also have to restrict capacity to around 25% so building back up gradually is crucial.

To ensure we can enable social distancing on our trains, as an industry we are looking at potential levers we can pull, such as limiting the number of tickets sold per train journey or by incentivising people to travel at different parts of the day through a revised fares and ticketing structure.  But we can’t achieve this alone.  

What we absolutely need are consistent messages coming from Government, transport operators and businesses to help manage demand for public transport so that we can all continue to save lives and protect the NHS.

People and businesses have embraced technology, enabling many to work effectively and productively from home.  If businesses can continue to support home working, then this needs to carry on for as long as possible. And for those businesses who need staff to travel to a place of work, then they need to look at flexible working arrangements and staggered start and end times.

Finally, I touch on how we can further the decarbonisation agenda, building on people’s newfound fondness for cycling and walking and moving much more quickly to the creation of more integrated public transport systems to avoid an over reliance on the private car. There can’t be many people that would want to see the return of gridlocked roads and poor air quality, so how can we all work together to build a better normal?

There was lots to cover off in a 45 minute webinar, so if you’re interested in what I had to say on this important topic, and to hear from East Midlands airport ,then you can hear a recording of it by clicking here.