masks not enforced on tfl

[bimbimbap]

i’m currently on the tube for the first time in 6ish months and am in the minority of people wearing a mask at all / properly. no-one seems to care at all! i think i expected active enforcement of the mask-wearing rules, and surely the revenue would help repay some of what tfl lost during lockdown?

Who do you expect to enforce it OP? And how?

What revenue? They don't have extra funds to play police. I don't think people really understand how much lockdown effected and will effect the economy.

Mask wearing on the tube has definitely got worse in the last few weeks, although oddly I dont see the same problem on buses?

How can it be enforced though? Thats a genuine question. If someone claims they are exempt when challenged, what can Tfl do about it?

Then tell BTP - they're in charge of enforcing this kind of thing. It's in station announcements and on posters and on social media.

I think the leadership and messages from Johnson &Co has been weak ,duplicitous,confusing .

People see a gov that doesn't care so they don't either .

Some guy got a kicking on a bus simply for moving away from a non mask wearer. He didn't say anything, just moved down the bus and the guy attacked him. Imagine what his reaction would have been if challenged. Tfl staff are just people, they don't sign up for putting themselves in a potentially dangerous confrontation.

I find this, "Who could possibly enforce it?" attitude weird. Surely TFL staff enforce payment of fares, or does that work totally on an honesty system? But what we need in this country is a formal system for getting a medical exemption certificate which you are then required to produce if not wearing a mask. After all, that's how the system works for disabled parking bays. We don't simply rely on people to be honest about whether they are justified in using a disabled parking space. We need a similar system for masks.

No, 'we' do not need medical exemption certificates, especially at a time when it's increasingly hard for many to get a GP appointment at all. And it's entirely different from blue badges as some who cannot use a mask are victims of rape and domestic violence. You can't qualify that. There's no need for a 'system' for masks, we already have one.

Masks haven't been enforced on the trains or the tubes since the start. They are relying on people being honest but, as we're seeing, far too many people are entitled idiots who don't want to play their part.

We do not currently have a system for masks which is why we have widespread non-compliance! If people have genuine mental health reasons for not wearing a mask, that should count as a reason for medical exemption. Personal preference should not count.

Yes, 'we' do have a system. You wear one if you can. 'Genuine mental health reasons' do not require having to disclose to anyone and justify yourself. Plenty of people who have been sexually assaulted, abused, etc and cannot tolerate a mask have never reported the abuse for a myriad of reasons and should not be forced to now because other people don't like it that they don't wear a mask. Fortunately we don't live in a draconian society like that. So glad we don't.

@Batshitbeautycosmeticsltd More ridiculous British exceptionalism. Other European countries achieve pretty much universal compliance with mask wearing on public transport. In the UK, people can selfishly choose to infect others with a deadly disease, but it's not allowed to challenge them in case they get upset. Where is your evidence that the huge numbers of people ignoring the mask rules are doing so due to past sexual abuse rather than simple selfishness? And can you explain what kind of abuse causes people to be able to wear a mask when boarding public transport, but forces them to pull the mask off their nose and mouth once they take their seats?

There were BTP officers at my tube station the other day stopping people without masks, so I think enforcement is improving. But agree people can just put the mask under their chin as soon as they get onto the tube... it is very annoying.

Completely different to my experience on Friday.

I took 2 trains and 2 tubes at a fairly busy time and didn't see a single person without a mask.

What about the exemptions????

A deadly disease???!! Yeah right!! Hardly..

@IrenetheQuaint That's good to hear. However, I can see it is difficult when a small minority of people do have genuine reasons for not wearing masks and there is no system in place to enable them to show that that's the case. That's why I think something akin to the disabled blue badge system is needed.

@loulouljh Not going to waste my time arguing with a covid- denier for the same reason I don't bother arguing with anti-vaxxers or flat earthers.

Where is your evidence that the huge numbers of people ignoring the mask rules are doing so due to past sexual abuse rather than simple selfishness? And can you explain what kind of abuse causes people to be able to wear a mask when boarding public transport, but forces them to pull the mask off their nose and mouth once they take their seats?

No evidence or justification is required to you or anyone else, Lily. People do not have to declare their pasts to others and why they can't tolerate mask wearing as a result, and some people can tolerate them for short periods of time. Others not at all. They do not owe you an explanation.

[quote LilyPond2]@loulouljh Not going to waste my time arguing with a covid- denier for the same reason I don't bother arguing with anti-vaxxers or flat earthers.[/quote]
lou never denied the existence of Covid19 .

@LilyPond2

I find this, "Who could possibly enforce it?" attitude weird. Surely TFL staff enforce payment of fares, or does that work totally on an honesty system? But what we need in this country is a formal system for getting a medical exemption certificate which you are then required to produce if not wearing a mask. After all, that's how the system works for disabled parking bays. We don't simply rely on people to be honest about whether they are justified in using a disabled parking space. We need a similar system for masks.

Its not the same as fare enforcement though, is it? Someone either has a ticket or they don't. If I was stopped by a revenue inspector, I'd need to produce my ticket or be fined. If I'm stopped for not wearing a mask I can just say "I'm medically exempt" and no one can prove otherwise (nor can I prove that I am)

No one should be questioned why they aren't wearing a mask.

The only way I can "prove" that I am exempt is if you force me into a position where I begin to hyperventilate on the bastard thing. I gave up trying in most circumstances after the panic attack that triggered within 45 seconds of putting the bastard on. Forcing someone into distress is deeply unethical. Based on previous experiences of going to the GP going back as far as 1994, fuck all would happen, so there is no point in attempting to contact them.

Fearing meeting RL self-appointed mask stasi makes the whole anxiety thing worse.

Live and let live.