The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The easing of Covid-19 restrictions in London and across our country is great news for our city’s economic recovery. London is the heartbeat of our nation’s economy and too many businesses had their future hanging in the balance coming into the new year due to inadequate government support.
“It’s been made possible by the fantastic efforts of everyone in our city, including our amazing NHS staff who have worked around the clock to administer the lifesaving Covid-19 vaccine. Everyone who wore a mask, took a lateral flow test or followed the advice to work from home where possible, has helped our city turn the corner.
“But sadly this is not the end of our fight against the virus. Covid-19 still poses a significant threat to all of us, our livelihoods and our loved ones. Wearing a face covering is one of the single most important and easiest things we can all do to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and the Government should rethink their plans and keep legislation in place to make them mandatory on public transport. This ensures the rules are clear and consistent and crucially means enforcement action can continue to be carried out on our transport network. Compliance of the rules is far higher with legislation than without.
“If we have learnt anything from this pandemic, it is that we must not get complacent and undo all our hard work and sacrifices. That’s why face coverings will remain a condition of carriage on TfL services. I’m asking everyone in our capital to do the right thing and continue to wear a face covering when travelling on TfL services to keep us all protected and to prevent further restrictions from being necessary later down the line.
"It’s important that Londoners continue to test regularly and report their results, to keep our communities safe from infection. I also want to urge anyone who hasn’t come forward for their first, second, or booster vaccination to do so now, even if you’ve had Covid-19 before. It’s never too late.”
Notes to editors
Stats on compliance with and without legislation:
Latest with legislation:
Customer Survey Info: Customer Pulse survey – 12 December 21 to 08 January 22
The figure of those claiming to wear a face covering on every journey has increased to 86% (Up from 77% between 14 Nov and 11 Dec 21).
Observations of other passengers wearing face coverings has increased to 48% (Up from 23% between 14 Nov and 11 Dec 21) on LU, and to 42% (Up from 22% between 14 Nov and 11 Dec 21) for Buses.
Compliance figures when wearing a mask was just a condition of carriage:
Customer Survey Info: Customer Pulse survey – 19 September to 16 October 2021
The figure of those claiming to wear a face covering on every journey has increased to 78% (Up from 77% between 22 August to 18 September).
Observations of other passengers wearing face coverings has decreased to 27% (Down from 31% between 22 August to 18 September) on LU, and to 25% for Buses (Down from 33% between 22 August to 18 September)