Transport bosses advise passengers to plan ahead and avoid busy times

Passengers across the region are being reminded to check before they travel and to continue to follow government guidelines on safe travel, as demand for public transport is expected to increase when the next roadmap milestone is reached.

The majority of South Yorkshire’s public transport services are now back to normal, operating to pre-pandemic timetables. From Monday May 17, bus operators, in agreement with the Department for Transport, are making front facing seats available to passengers to increase capacity on board. Rear facing seats, face-to-face seating and seats nearest the driver may still be unavailable and standing is not permitted.

“As restrictions ease, allowing more people to come together, we expect that more people will be travelling to see friends and family, eat out, see a film or shop. This means public transport will be busier. The changes that bus operators are introducing from Monday will help to increase capacity making it easier for passengers to get on a bus and ensure people across South Yorkshire can get to where they need to be.” says Tim Taylor, Director of Customer Services at South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE).

“The changes being made by bus operators will also mean passengers may find they need to sit next to someone on board. Everyone must keep following Government travel advice so we can all travel as safely as possible. Please plan ahead and check before you travel, avoiding busy times and routes if you can. When using public transport keep a safe distance wherever possible, regularly sanitise your hands and wear a face covering, unless you’re exempt. And, if possible, on buses keep windows open to increase ventilation.”

Operators have stringent procedures in place to keep vehicles clean, with extra focus on common areas of customer contact. Specific measures include increased cleaning frequency of all grab rails and poles, entrance door handles, window ledges and other touchpoints. Focused cleaning regimes also continue at all Travel South Yorkshire Interchanges, including extra attention to ensure doors, handrails, lifts and ticket machines remain disinfected.

Visit travelsouthyorkshire.com to for travel updates and to plan your journey.

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