North West Bus Service Changes due to Coronavirus outbreak

[knutstransport]

RE: North West Bus Service Changes due to Coronavirus outbreak

(19/07/2020 08:20)Rick Hunter Wrote:  The majority of people who use public transport to and from work do so Monday to Friday. Even on normal schedules many services had less journeys on Saturdays than during the week. Even now many office workers who would be using the bus are still working from home where they can. With fewer people traveling at weekends there's no point running a frequent empty service. When demand picks up then service levels should increase.

I think what we'll see in August is some people who usually commute five days a week, instead commuting on selected dates. Some people will be on part time furlough and those who are working full time may still be doing some working from home but bosses will want them to come in on certain days as some things are harder to do over Zoom or can't be done at all remotely. For example, it's easy for emails to be checked remotely but not so easy to check or send out postal mail and having people working from home as the norm means companies are warning of delays in responding due to COVID-19 even where they haven't furloughed any staff.

If there's a bus route mainly serving one large employer than that'll probably mean the loadings are still consistent and at a lower level than usual. If there's hundreds or thousands of employers e.g. in Manchester or Liverpool city centres then loadings may not be that consistent with loads of passengers on some days and not many on others and it may not be easy for employers to do anything to help public transport operators.