National Express bus network back to full strength
National Express West Midlands bus services in Birmingham and the Black Country will be back running at full strength next week.
As the government continues to relax the lockdown rules, the vast majority of the region’s bus routes will go back to their normal pre-pandemic frequencies on Sunday 5 July.
This means there will be over 105,000 more seats available every day.
The bus company has a team of 50 buses and 70 drivers on “sweeper” duty every day, ready to react to any reports of buses or bus stops getting busy.
Because of new social distancing requirements in Birmingham city centre and Park Street being closed, there will also be route and stop changes affecting routes 2, 3, 5, 6, 16, 17, 45, 47, 60, 65, 66, 67, 82, 87, X1, X2.
Chris Gibbens, commercial director at National Express West Midlands, said: “If you’ve not been on the buses for a while, you will see some changes that we’ve brought in to keep everyone safe.
“The government says passengers must wear face coverings on public transport. Some people do not need to wear a face covering – children under 11, and people with certain health and non-visible conditions, so drivers will be exercising reasonable discretion when applying this new rule.
“We have enhanced our cleaning regimes to reduce the risk of contact with the coronavirus, including extra cleaning of shared surface areas. And our cleaning teams are jumping on buses at bus stations, key interchanges and stops to wipe down mid-route.
“Our buses are also being deep cleaned every night by “fogging” – an aerosol-based disinfection containing a high-performance antiviral solution that settles in the hard-to-reach areas.”
