Less than 400 fines handed out to customers not wearing face coverings on public transport

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed the number via his Twitter account on Tuesday, September 1.

Mr Shapps also revealed that 115,435 people have been stopped and reminded that face masks or coverings are mandatory in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Of those 115,435 people, 5,277 were prevented from boarding public transport and 4,182 were ejected from or told to leave a service for not complying, while 365 have actually been fined.

The Transport Secretary said that compliance with the rule is “around 90%” – meaning that one in 10 people are not complying with the rules.

Face coverings, which can be a mask, scarf or a piece of cloth, have been mandatory on public transport across England since Monday, June 15.

At the time, it was the first rule on face coverings that the Government introduced to slow the spread of Covid-19.

Coverings have since been introduced in shops, situations where social distancing cannot be followed and in secondary school corridors in areas subject to so-called “local lockdown” restrictions.

Those with certain health conditions, disabled people and children under the age of 11 are exempt from wearing them.

Those who do not comply with the rules risk being fined £100.

You can find further information on wearing face coverings while travelling on public transport by clicking here.

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