As Merseyside gears up for the next stage of unlocking on 12 April, Stagecoach has announced that its bus services will be returning to close to 100% of pre-pandemic levels to support the re-opening of many more leisure and hospitality facilities.
Stagecoach has worked with Liverpool City Region Bus Alliance to agree increased timetables to support the local demand expected with changes in place from Monday 12 April. Full details of the new bus timetables can be found at www.stagecoachbus.com and www.merseytravel.gov.uk
Stagecoach is also taking the opportunity to thank people for their continued co-operation in following all the guidelines in place. In line with the advice from the country’s health advisors, all people travelling on public transport will need to continue to follow the legal rules around wearing face coverings for the full duration of the journey, washing/sanitising hands before and after travel and maintaining social distancing. It is also reminding customers not to close any open windows to help with natural ventilation and take their litter away when leaving the bus.
Other Covid-19 secure measures put in place by Stagecoach include the Busy Bus app to help customers travel at quieter times, encouraging people to pay by contactless or through the app to reduce cash handling, social distancing measures in place with a reduced number of seats available, regular touchpoint cleaning as well as fitting anti-virus air filters to buses in the fleet.
Matt Davies, Managing Director for Stagecoach in Merseyside said: “As we gear up for the next stage of unlocking in Merseyside with many leisure and hospitality facilities opening up, our bus services will continue to play a crucial role in helping people to re-connect with the things they enjoy doing.
“All of the region’s bus services, including those operated by Stagecoach, are fully Covid secure with extra measures in place to help people feel fully confident as they return to public transport. Under the Liverpool City Bus Alliance we’ve worked so well together, and as the country starts to unlock it’s still important that people continue to follow all the guidelines in place as they travel on our services.
“We’d like to thank our customers for their support and co-operation over the past year. As the vaccination programme continues at pace and as more of the country starts to open up in line with the Government’s roadmap, people are desperately keen to return to some kind of normality and our bus services will make sure they get to where they want to easily and safely.”
For more information about Stagecoach bus services, visit www.stagecoachbus.com and for information on the wider Merseyside public transport network including other bus operators visit www.merseytravel.gov.uk