TfL criticised for making £58k in fines over masks
CAMPAIGNERS SAY PASSENGERS WERE ‘CASH COWS’
TRANSPORT for London brought in almost £60,000 in fines from passengers not wearing face masks during the Omicron wave.
Masks were mandatory under national government rules on public transport, from the November 30 2021 until January 26 2022.
Now a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the TaxPayers’ Alliance has found that Transport for London (TfL) received £58,200 from 554 fines handed out to London Underground and London Bus passengers, plus those on other forms of public transport run by TfL, from people failing to wear a face mask during that time. It amounts to more than £1,000 per day brought in by TfL enforcement staff.
Elliot Keck, investigations campaigns manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Covid rules shouldn’t see commuters treated like a cash cow.
“Conditions of carriage already allowed enforcement officers to refuse service or to eject passengers failing to wear a face covering, without reaching for fines.
“With the pandemic behind us, public bodies must ensure all unnecessary Covid regulations and charges are brought to an end.”
TfL was legally obliged to enforce mask-wearing rules on the public transport network during much of the Omicron wave, and masks remained mandatory as a condition of carriage – though TfL lost its fining ability – for another month after national rules were dropped at the end of January.
Ministers, though, were keen to scrap face coverings in nearly all public spaces, after national rules on mask-wearing on public transport were scrapped with the end of Plan B restrictions.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said at the time: “Following the Government dropping all legal Covid restrictions, and in light of falling infection levels in London, it is expected that wearing a face covering will no longer be a condition of carriage on the TfL network.
“However, we know that face coverings remain a simple, effective measure that give Londoners confidence to travel, and following clear advice from public health advisers, TfL will likely continue to recommend their use on the network.
“I urge passengers to be considerate of their fellow Londoners and continue to wear a face covering where appropriate unless exempt.”
Travel and health experts had urged TfL to keep masks as a condition of carriage.
CEO of London TravelWatch Emma Gibson said research in February continued to show that people feel safer using public transport if passengers are wearing a face covering, with 69% of people feeling this way in the latest survey by Transport Focus. She said: “We also know that this figure is even higher for older people and those who use public transport more regularly.”
Green AM Caroline Russell, who chairs the London Assembly health committee, said: “The pandemic is not over – and London as a global city is uniquely vulnerable to exposure to any new variants that might arise. The TfL message about wearing a mask on public transport has helped reduce transmission of coronavirus, given people confidence to travel and kept staff and passengers safe. People are still getting sick so I hope TfL retains simple mitigation measures like mask wearing being a condition of carriage on public transport to keep Londoners safe.“
Dr Jacky Davis, a London NHS campaigner who sits on the British Medical Association’s board, said: “There are millions of clinically vulnerable people who will still be afraid to use public transport. At the same time hospitals are really struggling to deal with backlogs and waiting lists. We should be helping keep others safe and helping the NHS. It only takes a little compassion.”
A TfL spokesperson said the network issued fines due to national laws and regulations to limit Covid’s spread, with these powers extended to all police forces and travel providers, and with fine levels set nationally.