Coronavirus information - Do not travel unless its essential
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The Government has advised that you should only be travelling by public transport if you are a key worker, need to travel for medical reasons, to collect essential supplies or to support a vulnerable person. This is to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, protect the NHS and save lives.
We understand that people are concerned about exposure to the Covid-19 coronavirus whilst using public transport and would like to take this opportunity to assure you that the safety and wellbeing of our customers and team members remains our number one priority.
We are working closely with the Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), to ensure that a co-ordinated approach is in place across the region during this rapidly evolving situation and our teams are following the very latest advice from the Government and public health authorities regarding coronavirus (COVID-19).
What are we doing?
As people follow the latest government advice on avoiding non-essential use of public transport, the number of people travelling with us has reduced and we have introduced a temporary timetable. More details about the changes can be found here.
NHS workers and the children of key workers can now travel by metro free of charge and there are free shuttle services to hospitals across the region available for NHS workers from some park and ride locations and metro stops. For more information about these initiatives, visit www.WMNetwork.co.uk/nhstravel
Direct measures that have been introduced include increasing our already well-established and rigorous cleaning regimes for our trams, tram stops and main customer touch points. These include handrails, loops and push surfaces, as well as the depot using a viricidal disinfectant.
In addition, our drivers will open doors automatically at stops to reduce the need for customer contact with surfaces.
We are, of course, sharing all the latest health guidance with our team members, making sure they understand the advice to self-isolate if they show symptoms. We have provided employees with hand sanitisers and cancelled non-essential visits to the depot.
More recently, we have conducted a review of employee working environments to meet current advice, redeploying our front facing team members where possible.
What can you do?
As advised by the NHS, people should follow simple measures to protect themselves and others from viruses like coronavirus spreading:
If you do feel unwell with cold or flu-like symptoms, don’t put others at risk; please follow NHS advice https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/.
We would also encourage you to pay for your travel in advance via the My Metro app or by using contactless payment methods such as your debit card, Swift card or Apple pay. Our conductors will hold their machine so that you can scan your own pass, reducing surface contact and helping to keep you and our team safe.
