LibertyBus have announced that wearing a face covering will become a condition of entering the bus station from Monday, 26 October, in line with public health guidelines. Anyone not wearing a face covering will be asked to put a face covering on or be asked to leave the bus station unless they are one of the exempt groups (young children and those with breathing difficulties or a disability).
The change coincides with changing public health advice and enhances the message from the company about face coverings becoming a condition of carriage.
Kevin Hart, Director for LibertyBus, said: “We are fully on board with Government and supporting their strongly recommended advice of wearing a face covering in indoor public spaces as we want to ensure our staff and customers remain as safe as possible.”
“As the number of cases in Jersey has remained extremely low, confidence in catching the bus has increased, and over the last 7 weeks we have been carrying around 65% of our normal winter loadings, albeit this is only in the region of 50% of what we would normally see at this time of year.”
“We believe that making face coverings a condition of entering the bus station enhances our message and supports Government in the fight against COVID-19.”
“All of our buses drivers have masks for sale (stocks permitting) and we also have them at the customer service desk in order for our customers to ease in this new regulation.
“Face coverings for our staff walking through the bus station will be required however staff behind the customer service desk will not be required to wear a face covering as they are behind a shield and more than 1 meter away from our customers. There will be no change for our drivers on the bus and it will continue to be at their choice as it’s imperative that they are comfortable and have nothing blocking their vision when driving. They’re also at a distance of more than 1 metre when in the cab and have limited contact time with passengers.” “Cloth masks or nose and mouth coverings should not be used by children younger than 2 years or anyone who has trouble breathing or who would not be able to remove the mask themselves.”
Liberty Bus Media Release.