Nottingham City Transport will introduce some additional bus services for people in Arnold, Carlton and Mapperley as demand increases as more people return to work as current government restrictions are gradually lifted.
The extra services will begin operating from Sunday, May 31.
Government advice remains that people should not use public transport except for essential journeys and that people must not travel if they are unwell, show any COVID-19 symptoms or are living with anyone who is self-isolating.
The additional borough services are:
· Lilac 25: City to Arnold via Carlton, Westdale Lane and Mapperley
· Lime 56: City to Arnold via Sherwood and Plains Estate
· Lime 59: City to Arnold via Arnold
· Purple 87: City to Arnold via Sherwood and City Hospital
Improvements will also be made to existing services:
Anthony Carver-Smith, NCT Marketing Manager said, “Bus users in Nottingham have followed the government’s advice exceptionally well in recent months. The number of people travelling on our buses has been 90% lower throughout lockdown and was broadly the same last week, even after the Prime Minister’s announcement on May 10, 2020.
“We are conscious though that as restrictions may relax further in the next few weeks, we need to provide some additional capacity”.
Timetables for these additional services are available at nctx.co.uk and in the NCTX Buses app, with an updated Timetable Booklet in production, which can be requested by calling 0115 950 60 70 and will be posted out to customers.
Last week, the Department for Transport issued “Safer Travel Guidance for Passengers” which included advice for people to wear a facial covering on public transport, where social distancing is not always possible. The full guidance is available at https://www.nctx.co.uk/safertravel and all customers must familiarise themselves with the guidance before using NCT services.
To keep customers safe on board buses, NCT continues to follow an enhanced and rigorous cleaning regime, paying additional attention to the parts of buses that are most commonly touched, such as doors, poles, bells, card readers.
Employees are being provided with access to wipes, gloves, facial coverings and hand sanitiser as well as regular guidance and reinforcement about the expectations and requirements on them whilst at work.
On board buses, some seats have been closed off to support social distancing and customers are encouraged to use window seats only and sit a row away from people they do not live with, where possible.
There is currently no planned date for when additional services or a full service will resume.
Nottingham City Transport said it continues to review and follow government guidance and is closely monitoring usage levels on a daily basis and will make further announcements on this in due course.
