Community News From Around Our Area

“Public Transport is Safe and Ready,” says Mayor Andy Street

West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street, says Solihull’s train and bus services are safe, ready and waiting to welcome more passengers back on board following the relaxation of Covid-19 lockdown measures.

Travel chiefs at Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) have launched the ‘ready when you’re ready’ campaign to show that the region’s public transport network is all set to get the region moving again post-pandemic.

Mr Street said, “Our public transport network is ready and waiting to welcome people back. Whether it’s a daily journey to work or a trip for leisure, our buses, trams and trains are safe, clean and reliable.

“Leaving the car at home in favour of public transport is better for the environment and better for people’s physical wellbeing, and before Covid struck we had increased patronage on all our main modes of public transport.

“We’re also continuing to invest heavily in our transport network, with more than £1billion of upgrades and improvements already planned or underway.”

TfWM has teamed up with operators including West Midlands Railway and National Express West Midlands to highlight how the network remains fully operational and reassure travellers that their safety remains a priority.

The public transport network has been operating throughout the pandemic, to ensure essential workers, such as those on the NHS and social care frontline, could still get to work.

Bus company National Express West Midlands is highlighting the steps being taken to ensure the safety of passengers.

Commercial Director Chris Gibbens said, “We’re still carrying out our enhanced cleaning regime focusing on touchpoints. Cleaners will be jumping on board at town centres and bus stations to give buses an extra wipe down mid-service. And our cleaners ‘fog’ every bus every night with aerosol disinfection that contains a high-performance antiviral solution.

“The science tells us that fresh air is very important in our fight against viruses. National Express West Midlands buses stop and open their doors every two minutes on average and our engineers have done extensive testing of how air moves through buses when they’re going along. So, we’re asking customers to keep open the windows that have labels on – to keep that fresh air flowing through the bus.”