Passengers following mask rule on public transport in West Midlands

Regional travel bosses held an update meeting to reveal that 90 per cent of bus, rail or tram users had followed the new legal guidance.

Passengers now face a £100 fine if they don’t cover up while travelling under the new rules.

Laura Shoaf, managing director of Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), said: "We were very welcoming of the guidance that has gone into force today which is requiring people to cover their faces with a face covering while travelling on public transport.

"We have seen about 90 per cent of our passengers today using face coverings which is really encouraging."

She said TfWM is making them available at key hubs to make sure nobody was unable to travel, and it will continue to do so until the end of June.

And the organisation was distributing guidance on how to make your own face coverings.

She said: "We don’t want any passenger to be disadvantaged by that and we want everyone to be able to be kept safe."

The figure was a huge improvement on rates report last week suggesting only one in five had been covering their faces prior to the new rule kicking in.

Talking about the impact of the virus on services, she said: “By the end of April, public transport trips in the region had declined by at the very least 90 per cent across all modes. That was based on data we get from our Swift cards.

"Social distancing methods on public transport have resulted in capacity challenges in some areas so we have reduced public transport capacity.

"Before Covid, the tram carried between 220 and 240 passengers. With the two-metre social distancing safety rule at the moment, that’s about 40.

"So as you can see, it’s not financially viable to run those services but we have been able to work with the Department for Transport.

"They have been able to compensate us, as well as the bus operators and train operators to continue to provide public transport in the region and that’s been very helpful."

She said TfWM was “really proud” it had been able to continue offering a transport service during the pandemic to those who absolutely rely on it.

She said: "We are hoping buses will be operating at near to 100 per cent [of services] by the beginning of July, with reduced capacity for social distancing.

"Rail is currently running at 75 per cent of services, again with further timetable changes expected in July.

"We have focused a lot of our energies into installing social distancing measures at our peak transport hubs and stations and stops."