Factsheet: commuting in a pandemic

People using public transport for their commutes should, in line with government advice, plan ahead and consider staggering their journeys to avoid busy times if possible.

There are three principal documents that the UK government has produced to help businesses and commuters.

1) Safer transport guidance for transport operators and organisations - Safer working principles and risk assessment for transport operators and organisations’

2) Safer travel guidance for passengers - Walking, cycling, and travelling in vehicles or on public transport during the coronavirus outbreak'

The government have also produced a ‘safer travel guidance for passengers' infographic.

From 12 April England is due to enter in the second stage of lifting national lockdown restrictions. Advice regarding travelling to work will still be to only travel where you cannot reasonably work from home; however, it is important for businesses to start thinking about how their employees can commute safely into work as more restrictions are lifted. 

3) Travel guidance for employers - As part of the wider Safer Transport Campaign the government have previously also produced resources for employers to communicate the guidance with employees and partners.

The key messages are:

• Enable workers to continue to work from home where possible
• Help your workers to walk and cycle as much as they can
• Encourage travel outside of peak hours
• Help workers to plan their route
• Consider providing alternative transport if possible.

Note that there are differences between the specific guidance for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland although the main threads are similar.  See Further Information for links to their respective information hubs.

The government has also announced measures to encourage people to choose other forms of transport, including £2 bn for cycling, and the acceleration of e-scooter trials across the country.

The government is looking at measures to get more people commuting by bike with initiatives such as the Cycle to Work scheme to help with the cost of bikes, including e-bikes.

All businesses require a coronavirus risk assessment, even if they are continuing to operate or before restarting their operations.

Government guidance 

Last year, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has produced guidance on how a coronavirus risk assessment can be undertaken for a range of work settings.

This also includes advice on precautions to take where travel is required in a work setting. For example, those sectors that are working in, visiting or delivering to other people’s homes or factories, plants and warehouses dealing with transporting goods.

Health and Safety Executive guidance 

• HSE have produced guidance to help you work safely (be COVID-secure) and manage the risk associated with running your business at this time
• The main HSE guidance on Managing risks and risk assessment at work is found here.

All existing non-coronavirus related health and safety requirements continue to apply.

In terms of mitigation: 

• Social distancing, good ventilation, personal hygiene, avoidance of crowded spaces and regular cleaning of potentially contaminated surfaces all reduce risk
• Risk is much lower outside than within enclosed spaces
• Employers need to consider employees from all strands of diversity (i.e. all protected characteristics) in their risk assessment in preparation for the return to the office so that all concerns are heard and can be addressed. A Public Health England report found the risk is “disproportionate” for those from black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups.

• Face coverings on public transport are compulsory with fines for non-compliance.
• Exceptions
  
  • Children under the age of 11 (Public Health England does not recommend face coverings for children under the age of 3 for health and safety reasons)
  • People who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability
  • Where putting on, wearing or removing a face covering will cause you severe distress
  • If you are speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expressions to communicate
  • To avoid harm or injury, or the risk of harm or injury, to yourself or others ‒ including if it would negatively impact on your ability to exercise or participate in a strenuous activity
• Evidence suggests wearing face covering offers some – albeit limited – protection against the spread of the virus 

• There are enforcement measures for failing to comply with face covering. If necessary, the police and Transport for London (TfL) officers have enforcement powers, including issuing fines of £200 (reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days) for the first offence. Repeat offenders receiving fines on public transport or in an indoor setting will have their fines doubled at each offence. After the first offence there will be no discount. For example, receiving a second fine will amount to £400 and a third fine will be £800, up to a maximum value of £6,400.

• The government has published advice on how to make and wear a face covering
• Face coverings should be removed if asked to do so by a police officer or other relevant person
• It is advised that hands should be washed or sanitised before and after touching a face covering and for longer journeys more than one face covering should be taken and a plastic bag for used face coverings.

To mitigate risk, businesses need to understand virus transmission.  The evidence base continues to grow. The SAGE report ‘Environmental Influence on Transmission SAGE – Environmental and Modelling Group’ provides a good baseline.

• Surface contacts are likely to be the most significant transmission route.
• Transmission depends on both the amount of virus present and the duration and method of exposure (contaminated surfaces or aerosol/droplets)
• Occupant density indoors is a key factor in transmission
• Exposure to cough is theoretically significantly riskier than exposure to someone talking
• The probability of infection increases as the exposure increases (proximity is a factor)
• The risk of short-range transmission through aerosol/droplets decreases with distance.

Many businesses won’t have detailed maps of their employee’s daily commutes.  However, the UK has world leading statistics on travel patterns captured by ONS (Office for National Statistics).  The ONS has produced a useful orientation on pre-coronavirus travel patterns.  

• In most places of work, men are likely to commute for longer than women
• Men are more likely than women to commute by train – a possible mode of transport for long commutes
• Women tend to undertake shorter journeys to work, accounting for more than half (55%) of commutes lasting 15 minutes
• For all commuters, journeys are most likely to last 15 minutes or less and least likely to last more than an hour
• The car is the most equal and the most popular form of transport; it accounts for two-thirds of all commutes by both men and women respectively
• Cycling is among the most unequal ways of commuting, with men accounting for 74% of those who cycle to work.

Those with longer commutes are the least likely to have viable alternatives to public transport and are much more likely to be male.

See also:

• Gender split cycling
• Long commutes up by a third
• National travel survey
• Commuting and business travel factsheet

It’s recommended that you share the government’s Coronavirus (COVID-19): safer travel guidance for passengers and any updates to this with staff. Government guidance clearly states you can continue using the public transport network if you need to travel. Business can innovate in how best to convey the employer guidance including – sharing the direct link, internal briefings and infographics.  Sharing the guidance will also provide an opportunity for conversations about any concerns or specific risks that employees have.

Make workforce travel plans before your workers return to work 

Development of workforce travel plans has formed part of the sustainability agenda for some time.  These plans should now be pivoted to understand workers’ travel patterns (or created where they don’t exist already).

There are now tools that use employee postcodes to provide organisations with insights to make informed decisions on their employees commuting problems. Other software service solutions enable employers to send personal travel plans with options ranked in order of maximum social distancing to help workers make informed decisions, such as by switching to walking.

Employers will need to build up a map of their staff’s commutes and consider interventions based on the insight. Determine if there are any workers that cannot meet the social distancing guidelines by walking, running, cycling or driving to work.

Protect workers arriving at and leaving the workplace 

When arriving at and leaving the workplace, there may be occasions when workers are in the same space or are using entrances and exits at the same time. There may be known bottlenecks.  You should consider opportunities to reduce risk in these situations.

Businesses may consider: 

• Staggering arrival and departure times where possible to reduce crowding on routes to and from the workplace
• Reducing queues, for example by having more entry points to the workplace
• Providing more storage for workers for clothes and bags
• Managing queues, for example through floor markings, signs and introducing one-way flow at entry and exit points, considering the impact on public spaces, and working collaboratively with other operators and local authorities
• Providing hand sanitation at building entry/exit points and not using touch-based security devices (such as keypads)
• Reviewing workplace access points and entry requirements (for example deactivating turnstiles requiring pass checks in favour of showing a pass to security personnel at a distance). Organisations need to make sure that alternative checks provide the same level of security
• Limiting passengers in business vehicles (for example, work minibuses), leaving seats empty
• Collaborating with other organisations that share the premises to minimise people on site
• Assigning fixed groups of workers to the same transportation routes where sole travel is not possible
• Providing additional safe facilities for runners/walkers/cyclists as well as alternative means of transport such as coaches.

• As lockdown restrictions begin to ease, transport operators are raising service levels. For example, as part of the rail industry’s safer travel pledge to ensure people can travel with confidence, rail companies are increasing services to almost 18,000 each weekday by 12 April, an increase of over 1,000 since February.
• This means there is capacity for approximately 36-45% of pre-pandemic passenger volumes with social distancing. With current passenger levels at approximately 25% according to the most recent government data, there is still room on trains, particularly at quieter times.

Rail guidance to commuters is: 

• Travel during off-peak hours if you can
• Buy your ticket online. Visit National Rail Enquiries or your train company website
• Check train times and live information before you travel
• Allow extra time to make your journey by train.

The latest guidance by the rail industry and for businesses can be found on the National Rail Enquiries website.

Businesses will have to be flexible  on start and end times, seek to avoid a need for travel during ‘rush hour’ and review expectations of hours present at the workplace

With face coverings now mandatory for public transport, employers will need to provide guidance to staff on the storage and care of those items within the workplace. Government guidance is available on why wearing a face covering is important.

Businesses will need to think through the best practice and staff training they want to implement at their place of work for face coverings worn by staff on public transport:

• Staff need to know that before and after handling the mask (to put it on, adjust or take it off), to practice proper hand hygiene — EVERY TIME — to reduce the cross-contamination risk. The outside of the mask is considered dirty
• Staff will need to store the mask every time they take it off - a paper bag or zipper bag if a paper bag is not available – and know to store the mask in a clean place and never in a purse or pocket
• Staff need to be reminded not to touch the outside of their mask when it is on their face. Do not pull your mask below your chin while you're wearing it. Leaving the mask dangling or improperly fitted creates opportunities for cross-contamination.