If it had not already struck home, the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic was laid out starkly on 18 March when Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, urged the public to stay at home, walk or cycle.
For the past 20 years, London mayors have championed public transport, but that message is on pause. Explaining Transport for London’s decision to scale back bus and train provision, he spoke words we surely never expected to hear from a civic leader in peacetime.
‘People should not be travelling, by any means, unless they really, really have to.’
That message has been repeated across the UK, as strict social distancing, self-isolation by older and vulnerable members of the public and the closure of leisure facilities and non-essential retailing have been imposed to reduce the spread of the infection and its impact on the National Health Service.
Bus services have been pared to the bone, but tailored - in several places by commendably quick trial and error - to the needs of NHS and other essential workers, and for the wider public to reach food shops, pharmacies and newsagents.
Starting in the West Midlands, many English transport authorities and operators lifted the pre-09.30 restriction on free concessionary trave…
