To wonder what’s going to happen on the tube with face covering and hot weather

[amillionnamechangeslater000]

Just that really. Usually at this time of year we are being warned to carry water with us, not wear hot clothes etc.
Now it’s mandatory to wear a face covering - which precludes the drinking of water and obviously makes you even hotter.
Not sure there’s really a solution but wonder how this will evolve.

@HappyHammy
At rush hour you can be so crammed in there is no way you could even hold a fan in front if your face, literally not a millimetre to spare. You can spend a journey with your face in virtually against someone's arm .
Its completely airless. Many other countries have aircon. Sone of the tunnels and stations are so deep no breeze or fresh flair ever gets down theren just air temperature plus the heat of the continually packing in people which are literally rammed together constantly.
I've seen so many people faint over the years on warm days.
I imagine this will start to make some kind of difference, maybe people who might have caught the tube for a stop or two might start walking instead if it's so unbearable. Living in London has lots of peculiarities that come with it. People get used to them and they become normal though.

It's really not a big deal. I wear full PPE for 11 hours a a day and a part from smelling my own breath (don't eat garlic before wearing)......it's not a big deal. I think the number of people getting het up about this, need to relax. It's not going to cause you to pass out, drink before you leave the house, and you r rove it when it's safe to do so

I suspect, after a couple of weeks at most, many will just drop them round their neck and replace only as and when there is an official around.

The infection rate is falling and is already very low, particularly in London.

@SD1978 people already do pass out on the tube. It’s not that I disagree with wearing face coverings - I think it’s a good idea. I just wonder how it will combine with London Underground’s usual summer messaging. There’s quite the clash there.

I reckon though that a lot of people will still be working from home until the autumn which will mean it’s at least a bit less crowded in the hottest months.

Sort of like during the Olympics but without the tourists and the Gamesmakers.

@JassyRadlett m hahaha remember the panic before the Olympics? Then the tubes ended up quieter than even the Christmas break! That was a great summer.

I know! We spent SO LONG on our rotas and home working equipment etc etc... and then it was a super nice time to travel (helped no doubt by all the people who’d booked a holiday and rented out their place).

@TheFencePainter

How hot does the tube get fgs

Very. I’ve nearly passed out several times in the summer.

I've been on the tube this week for work, and it's completely empty. Never more than 7 people in a carriage. So it's much cooler than usual, even when it was hot at the start of the week. If most people carry on working from home, temperatures won't be a problem.

I live in the Middle East. It's 48 degrees here and a legal requirement with big fines to wear face mask and gloves when in any public space. You just get on with it because everyone else is doing it and it helps reduce the transmission. Wear a mask or stay at home. Easy!

I can't imagine wearing a face mask on the tube at any time of year! I am a Northerner but used the tube back in December when I travelled to London for a conference. It was bloody roasting then!

I honestly couldn't believe how warm it was on the underground despite it being December!

I can certainly believe that people faint on the tube in Summer and that will be made worse by wearing a mask.

I suppose where possible, people will walk/cycle rather than get on the tube. I walked the last half mile of my journey as I couldn't face changing tube lines and just needed some air. I appreciate that if you use the tube every day you are probably more used to it though

@Savvyblonde 47 degrees above ground in the open air is quite different to 47 degrees and packed into a tube carriage underground.

The tube isn't too busy at the moment. DH told me just 6 people in his carriage on the Piccadilly line in rush hour this morning and 3 on the rush hour journey home this evening

I've seen loads of people keel over. Including young men. It is a very unpleasant environment which is why they have air con in on some lines (with varying effectiveness!).

I live at the end of a line that goes overground when it gets to zone 4 ish. The difference when it comes out of the tunnel is immense. Fresh air can get in the windows, and although it's still hot, that makes a huge difference.

I am at the end of a line and have travelled for work into the centre for years. It's fucking hot. People Keeling over is not unusual. That's just factual. I don't understand the 'how bad can it be, get a grip' comments. It is what it is. If someone conks out they conk out. They can't help it and they haven't done anything wrong.

I'm still trying to find one that fits properly. Normal ones make my glasses fog up and I cant see.

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut you need the little bendy bit above the nose so you can close it up. It's really common issue and this helps. You can make your own masks. They are fairly simple and you can make it the perfect size. If you can sew.

Some people that unfortunately struggle in the 40C+ like the Central Line in the middle of summer anyway, but don't see why a mask would make that worse.

Its perfectly possible to breathe normally wearing, you see lots of people cycling and running wearing masks too.

Plus I hope a mask might help avoid smelling some of the less pleasant aromas you tend to get on the tube in the middle of summer . It could be a positive!

Not everywhere in SE Asia has air con at all of it's stations. It's not uniform across everywhere to have it although yes Singapore has it at most (again not all)stations.
The MRT gets just as rammed as the Tube and many locals choose to wear face masks. They are more climatised though. Last October on my last trip to KL lots of women were wearing cashmere jumpers with jeans with face masks in rush hour on the MRT. The MRT is a mix of mono rail, ground and underground routes, so it's not fully air conditioned by a long shot.

I suppose we will eventually get used to masks. At the moment they are very alien to most brits and unpleasant to wear. I'm not saying it will be pleasant but I imagine we will adapt to it on some level.

The tube gets very hot warm tbh, and masks will become useless as they will become damp with sweat.

I had to go to London today for a medical appointment and didn’t see a single member of TFL staff wearing a mask on the tube. There were a couple at Waterloo, and a few more with masks tucked under their chins.

My doctors are very opposed saying they are useless in practice and only of very limited benefit in a clinical setting. They also said that breathing in your own CO2 is likely to make people with respiratory conditions unwell, particularly when in warm environments. And damp masks risk causing skin irritation which increases infection risk as then the virus can enter the body through broken skin instead.

They are actually very hostile to the lockdown as well since they have patients unable to get essential treatment as services are closed due to covid. They’re very worried about the long term health effects of lockdown, much more than the immediate risks of covid.

My doctors are very opposed saying they are useless in practice and only of very limited benefit in a clinical setting.
They could compare how countries where masks are worn compare to countries where they are not. The tide has turned on it and it is now acknowledge that they help. Obviously though we are not talking about the paper ones which stop you spreading it for few minutes. Cotton triple layer should work for about two hours.

I will be using black cabs, used one today and he knocked 50% off the meter. He was wearing a mask and I felt very safe with the partition

@Justgorgeous that was nice of him. Not sure many will be able to afford black cabs for a daily commute though.

No, I appreciate that, it’s just such a shame they aren’t being utilised by TFL as a far safer way to travel.

I'm not sure what the relationship is between black cabs and TFL. I've just asked DH who works for TFL and he's not sure either. He says they do signage at the taxi ranks when they need to close them but that's as far as he knows.

I always thought they were separate, sure they used to be. Do you have more info? Google hasn't helped much.

@ShinyFootball TFL regulate London cabs so all their tariffs, rules and regulations are set by them.