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Face coverings will continue to be mandatory when travelling on the TfL network after July 19, when the national legal requirement will change.
Sadiq Khan has asked TfL to keep the requirement to wear face masks on public transport as a condition of travel after July 19.
This means that passengers on all TfL services, which includes the tube, buses, tram, DLR, Overground and TfL rail, will need to wear a face mask unless they are exempt. Khan has also asked TfL to put measures in place to make sure that both passengers and drivers in taxis and private-hire vehicles continue to wear face masks.
From July 19, the government’s legal requirement to wear a face-covering will be lifted. The new guidelines state that ‘the government expects and recommends that people wear face coverings in crowded areas such as public transport’.
London is the first city in England to bring in its own rules on mask-wearing on public transport after the so-called ‘Freedom Day’. According to City Hall, the latest poll shows that 68 percent of Londoners were in favour of face-coverings being compulsory on public transport after July 19.
Khan said: ‘I’ve repeatedly made clear that the simplest and safest option would have been for the government to retain the national requirement for face-coverings on public transport.
‘I’m not prepared to stand by and put Londoners, and our city’s recovery, at risk. This is why, after careful consideration, I have decided to ask TfL to retain the requirement for passengers to wear a face-covering on all TfL services when the national regulations change.’