can we use public transport (ie. the train) to visit relatives?

[Peterbear]

can we do this now? I've been on gov.uk and bbc but am confused. has anyone been using the train (in the north of England) recently - are they fairly empty? Thanks for any tips. I feel that I become less well informed by the day!

The train cos are still saying no to leisure travel, and I think this would be the same.

Thanks - not sure what constitutes leisure - I think I'll wait for a while. ALl very confusing and presumes eveyone drives/has a car.

Technically you're not supposed to.
I probably would do it. We get to "follow our instincts" now.

No. You must wait until you have loss of vision, then drive there.😉

Leisure travel means all non-work/commuting travel. So unfortunately, no, you shouldn’t be using the train to visit relatives.

No. You shouldn't be visiting family (other than one on one in an outdoors public space maintaining social distance) for any purpose under the current rules, and even when those rules are relaxed it is likely that public transport will remain for essential journeys only and visiting family is not essential.
The only exception to this would be to attend the funeral of a close family member as this could be deemed essential.

Visiting relatives is still not allowed
You should only use the train if essential ie going to work if you can’t work from home
So no, you can’t use the train to visit relatives

Thanks for your input everyone - can i just ask where everyone gets the current list of 'rules' - not much on gov.co.uk or bbc and feel im completely clueless/confused now - don't think my sources i.e facebook are prooving reliable!!
Ofcourse I could just do a Cummings and do what i feel like but trying to maintain a bit of integrity here!! :)

If I thought I wouldn’t get stopped or questioned by the transport police and if relatives were low risk, then I’d probably do it. Boris said DC acted with integrity so I wouldn’t worry about what anyone else thinks.

I think this is one on which the only possible answer is to follow your instincts

(It does seem that your instincts and personal integrity are ones which are worth having)

Public transport is for essential journeys only at the moment, not leisure. So I think that means just to get to work, nothing else. I don’t have a car and it’s very frustrating that I’m so limited as to where I can go but it is what it is. I’m really hoping public transport restrictions are lifted soon so the kids and I can go further than the mile around my house

I work at a train station
People have been using the trains for leisure the whole lockdown
Loads with massive suitcases
Lots of young people using them after 8pm etc
Transport police questioned people about 10 mins a day before they stopped bothering all together.

Guess it depends what station you would use

@jellybeanz1212 how do you know its leisure. I got on a train with a 'massive suitcase' during lockdown and there was nothing 'leisure' about it. So judgey.

Technically no. But nobody is stopping people asking where they are going (DS's dad is a train driver) so you could do it anyway if you wanted.

You can use public transport to go shopping, which I will be doing today, so not just for work, I will also be taking a suitcase as I can’t carry much and need quite abit of stuff so I’m using a suitcase, maybe people shouldn’t make judgements assuming it’s for leisure because I have a suit case

Yes you can

I got the train to meet a friend in the park on Sunday... didn't really occur to me that it wasn't actually allowed. It was a short journey (20 mins) and the train was pretty much empty.

@jellybeanz1212 I commute into London and the transport police question a lot of people in the main stations.

I would avoid both rush hours. I don't know about trains, but buses are more or less empty during the day here. Can't see any harm sitting on a near empty bus or train, well away from the driver. It might be better to wear a mask.

Essential journeys only. That includes food and other essential shopping if you really can’t do it on foot, medical appointments, and caring for vulnerable people.

If you were checking on Granny because you’re seriously worried about her then that’s fine. If you’re going to take the DC to have a picnic with Granny in the park because she misses them then that is not an allowed use of public transport.

My daughter is currently having a mental health crisis at the moment and we are on the verge of going to grandparents. This would involve 2 trains and a bus. To average nosy person it would look like a number and pre teen 'going on holiday'. It won't be. There doesn't seem to be actual rules. It's just all made up.

@Flaxmeadow no, you can't.

You probably won't be challenged, unless you're heading into somewhere where lockdown is still happening (I know Welsh btp have been stopping people) so it comes down to your own conscience. There will be people who have no alternative but to use the train and every person who chooses to use it for leisure increases the risk for them. Even if you think the risk is absolutely tiny, you're still making that choice for them.

If you want to emulate Cummings' decision making process, as others have suggested, then that's up to you, with that caveat again that you're making the choice for other people too.

OP if you have to go to care for the relatives, especially if one of them is a small child and they are about 260 miles away, then yes you can as it is an essential journey. Well that's what DC has led us all to believe....

I don’t understand this post as you can’t visit relatives