The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan warned that if trains in the city continue to be packed with passengers, the city may be forced to implement police checks to ensure commuters are part of the essential workforce permitted to travel in the city.
On the first day of the nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, trains on the London Underground were crammed with commuters, openly defying the government’s lockdown orders to stand two metres apart.
Sadiq Khan said that “it is a really good idea” to introduce police spot checks on the tube, adding that people should not be travelling on the city’s public transport system “unless it’s absolutely necessary”.
“What we have got is our British Transport Police assisting the TfL staff, but the basic message is really important: don’t use public transport unless you have to work; if you are a critical worker,” Khan said per The Times.
Mr Khan said on social media that a growing number of workers for Transport for London (TFL) workers are off duty, either sick with the coronavirus or self-isolating as a precautionary measure.
The staff shortages in the transport network mean that the city is currently limited in the number of trains it can run per day, exacerbating the problem of overcrowded trains, although the central government said Tuesday afternoon that London should run more trains to alleviate crowding.
In response to the crowded trains in London, the leader of the Brexit Party, Nigel Farage said: “Disgraceful scenes on the London underground this morning. We will only obey a government that we respect.”
The district organiser for the train drivers’ union Aslef, Finn Brennan said: “If the government doesn’t shut construction sites and pay self-employment, people will die.”
“There are too many employers that are just not taking this seriously. We are trying our best to make everyone listen, but the situation is stark,” Brennan told the BBC.
“It cannot go on the way it is or the Tube will not be able to continue. But, let me be clear, we very, very much want it to continue as it is vital,” he added.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that police in the UK will be empowered to hand out £30 fines to anyone they catch breaking the lockdown measures, however, the fines may increase if they are deemed to be ineffective.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that “these measures are not advice”, urging people to abide by the strict measures implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
“They are rules and will be enforced, including by the police with fines starting at £30 up to unlimited fines for non-compliance,” Hancock said.
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