Boris Johnson is making a mistake – face masks should continue to be mandatory on public transport

The mess we find ourselves in over face masks was entirely avoidable and the blame lies squarely at the door of No 10. With just a few days until “Freedom Day”, the prime minister’s approach has left passengers using trains and tubes facing chaos and confusion.

This is a really important issue. Ever since Covid-19 arrived, there has been heightened anxiety among those using public transport and this has been reflected in a massive drop in footfall. Work from home policies have led to train stations and bus and coach stations effectively resembling ghost towns.

If we want to really reboot the economy and get things moving again, it is absolutely vital that we have a public transport system people can trust and have faith in. Right now, we are a million miles from this.

Last week, we polled passengers across London using our app, which helps them avoid crowded trains, and more than three quarters said they wished the government had kept mandatory masks in place. Even more alarmingly, less than 10 per cent of passengers said they’d feel comfortable asking a fellow traveller to put a mask on.

The prime minister might want to adopt a common sense approach, putting the decision in the hands of passengers. But passengers have spoken and they don’t want that. They want clear and consistent advice, not announcements that change from day to day.

Recent data we’ve obtained also shows the way in which people are moving around is changing. The prime minister spoke about why there was no reason to keep a mask on outside of peak times, but the pandemic has turned the 9 to 5 working day on its head.

Rising numbers of people are now travelling later in the morning and later at night, with employers showing more and more flexibility about working patterns. This means trains and buses are likely to be more crowded at unusual times.

That’s one of the reasons I was relieved to see the Mayor of London make masks mandatory. It’s clear advice and a one size fits all approach that passengers in London can understand. But what about those living outside the capital? I worry that the chaos and confusion the government has created here will lead to many steering clear of public transport and jumping in their cars to get to work.

Living with Covid is a reality and hopping back on the tube or catching a bus needs to become as normal a part of this readjustment as going to the pub or visiting  the cinema with friends. Continuing to wear a face covering as you make your journey is a very small price to pay. The prime minister needs to swallow his pride and make it a legal requirement.

Dash Tabor is the founder of TUBR, an app she launched during lockdown to help people avoid crowded trains