What are the face mask rules for public transport in Manchester from July 19?
Some forms of public transport will continue to ask passengers to use face coverings beyond July 19 - the date that masks stop becoming a legal requirement.
July 19 spells the end for the vast majority of COVID-19 restrictions in the UK – marking the final step on a roadmap out of a national lockdown which has stretched on for seven months.
Social distancing is being stopped. Mass gatherings are being permitted. And nightclubs are all reopening. Life is apparently heading towards something resembling normality once again. But it’s all happening at a peculiar time.
COVID-19 cases are at their highest point since January – prompting some to argue that certain restrictions should remain in place.
The government has already postponed its ‘Freedom Day’ by a month – with the UK originally scheduled to come out of restrictions on June 21. But whilst infection rates continue to spike, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has argued that the reopening should now go ahead – stating that “if we couldn’t open up in the coming weeks, then when could we?”
The biggest point of contention, however, has remained the use of face coverings.
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In most instances, the use of masks will no longer be a legal requirement past July 19 but rather a recommendation – with Transport Minister Grant Shapps announcing that transport companies can decide their own rules.
With that in mind, here are the restrictions for public transport in Manchester.
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Do I have to wear a mask on the Metrolink?
Mayor Andy Burnham has said masks will remain a condition of travel on the Metrolink past July 19 / Image: Wikimedia Commons
Face coverings will remain compulsory on Greater Manchester’s Metrolink service beyond July 19.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham confirmed earlier this week that wearing a mask will be required across the network until further notice.
Failure to comply with these Conditions of Carriage could see passengers refused travel and/or fined up to £100.
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Burnham has also been working with other Mayors in England as part of a campaign to encourage the government to reverse its decision on masks nationwide – saying the “best solution is to continue the national requirement” for face coverings on all transport.
Together with Mayors across England, and building on the move by @SadiqKhan, I am using what powers I have to maintain mask-wearing on public transport.
We all believe the best solution is to continue the national requirement from Monday and we hope the Government will listen. pic.twitter.com/ejfuyVhgme
The Mayor stated: “There are around 200,000 people in Greater Manchester who are clinically vulnerable and I believe the Government’s decision to drop the requirement to wear face masks on public transport could put those people more at risk when using public transport, or force them off altogether.
“I do not believe they should be put in that unfair position.
“I have been listening to people’s concerns and, in response, have decided to continue to require the wearing of face coverings on Metrolink.”
Do I have to wear a mask on the bus or train?
Masks will not be a legal requirement on buses from July 19 / Image: Wikipedia
It is up to the transport operator as to whether the use of masks will be enforced on buses or trains in Greater Manchester – as they do not fall under the remit of the Mayor.
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The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), which represents major bus and coach operators such as National Express and Megabus, said it will not be making masks a requirement past July 19.
A CPT statement reads: “We expect that many people, especially in busy places, will follow the Prime Minister’s call to continue to wear a face covering as a courtesy to others.
“Passengers, though, will find it difficult to understand why the Prime Minister has singled out public transport as somewhere to wear a face covering when a range of other activities share its characteristics.
“We now need to see clear guidance for operators and customers but, in the absence of regulations, it is important that we respect everyone’s right to choose whether to wear a face covering.”
Train industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) announced that most domestic train operators, such as Avanti West Coast, TransPennine Express and Southeastern will not require passengers to use face coverings on board.
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An RDG spokesman said: “Rail companies will ask people to follow the Government guidance and, out of respect for others, wear face coverings if an indoor setting is busy.
“Train travel is low-risk, with the majority of carriages well ventilated by air conditioning systems or by doors and windows.”
Eurostar, however, will ask passengers to continue wearing masks beyond July 19.
Do I have to wear a mask at the airport?
Masks will continue to remain compulsory in airports and on planes / Image: Lukas Souza via Unsplash
British Airways, EasyJet, Virgin and Ryanair, have specified that masks will be required on board their flights.
News
95% of Mancs apparently want the city to be ‘cashless’, new study reveals
Emily Sergeant
An eye-opening new study has found that only 5% of Mancs still use cash as their preferred method of payment nowadays.
It comes as no surprise that cash is less of a ‘king’ nowadays than it used to be, but now a new report by global financial technology company SumUp has suggests that only 5% of people in Manchester prefer to pay with cash, while 59% choose debit and credit cards, so that leaves one question… is Manchester on its way to becoming a cashless city?
To discover how payment preferences are evolving, SumUp conducted a nationwide survey to gather insights from UK consumers about their payment habits.
The company was particularly intrigued to not only discover payment methods people prefer, but what their concerns around certain payment methods, alongside how they feel about businesses that don’t accept digital payments.
95% of Mancs apparently want the city to be ‘cashless’ / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash) | Pexels
Firstly, before we go any further, it’s important to note that almost two thirds (63%) of Manchester residents said they have changed the way they make payments over the past year.
Unsurprisingly, debit and credit cards remain the top choice for the majority of Mancs, with over half (59%) saying it was their preferred method of payment, followed by mobile payment methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay at 24% – which is likely thanks to their ease of use and the ability to have multiple cards on one device.
While a third (31%) of Mancs said that they ‘don’t mind’ cash and still opt to carry it for situations where digital payments aren’t an option, a growing number of people in the city are feel that digital payments are more favourable, with 25% thinking that businesses should adapt to modern payment methods and whilst 28% finding it ‘inconvenient’ when a business doesn’t accept digital payments.
A further 11% of people even say that cash-only businesses wouldn’t be an option they’d consider, and would actually avoid them wherever possible.
Only 5% use cash as their preferred method of payment / Credit: Rawpixel
When it comes to concerns around digital payment methods, where do Mancs stand then? Well, the survey found that a third (33%) of people are worried about their reliance on technology, especially being unable to pay if their phone dies, for example, while an additional 32% of people are concerned about security risks such as hacking, fraud, or stolen card details.
Among other things, 26% of survey respondents also said they worry about the privacy aspect of digital banking and the tracking your data.
“While debit and credit cards continue to dominate as the preferred payment method, it’s clear that cash is slowly declining in use, particularly among younger generations,” Corin Camenisch, who is the Marketing & Growth Lead at SumUp, commented on the report.
“Looking ahead, we can anticipate a rise in innovative payment methods like digital wallets, especially as younger consumers increasingly embrace the convenience and flexibility they offer.”
Featured Image – Pavel Danilyuk (via Pexels)
News
Met Office predicts UK is set for ‘hotter than average’ summer
Emily Sergeant
The Met Office is predicting that the UK is set for a ‘hotter than average’ summer this year.
Fresh off-the-back of the news that 2025 is already the hottest spring on record, with a recorded 630 hours of sunshine from 1 March until 27 May, beating out the previous sunniest spring in 2020 by just four hours, the Met Office is now predicting that the UK is on the verge of a summer that’s ‘hotter than usual’.
According to its three-month outlook, the Met Office has predicted that it’s 2.3 times more-likely than ‘normal’ that it will be hot in the UK between 1 June and 31 August.
The average temperatures during those months are set to range from 10-17°C.
🌡️ ☀️ The UK has recorded its warmest and sunniest spring on record, according to provisional Met Office statistics.
Spring 2025 is now the 4th sunniest season overall for the UK, with only 3 summers sunnier since 1910.
Details in release below, or read this short thread 👇🧵
After it was revealed that this has also been the UK’s driest spring in more than a century, meteorologists are warning Brits that there could heatwave conditions could be reached at various times throughout the summer.
The release of the long-range forecast – which gives an indication of possible temperatures, rainfall, and wind speed over a period as a whole – comes after temperatures soared to 8°C (46F) above the average for this time of year this Saturday just gone (31 May).
It is important to note, however, that the Met Office thinks these predicted temperatures are similar to those in recent years, and it does not guarantee ‘prolonged’ hot weather.
The Met Office is predicting that the UK is set for ‘hotter than average’ summer this year / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
The Met Office said in a statement: “While the current three-month outlook shows an increased chance of a hot summer, the temperature signals for this summer are similar to those for recent years and consistent with our warming climate.
“The increased chance of hotter than average temperatures is not a guarantee of prolonged hot weather or heatwaves, but it does mean that heatwave conditions could be reached at times.
“However, it’s important to bear in mind that an increased chance of hot conditions could also reflect a mix of hot and cool days, warm nights, or less extreme levels of warmth rather than continual heatwave conditions specifically.”
The Manc -
16th July 2021 
