New self-isolation rules came into force this week. From Monday onwards, fully vaccinated people no longer have to self-isolate if they come into close contact with a COVID-19 case, raising hopes that the ‘pingdemic’, as well as the pandemic, is drawing to a close.
But now there is a new barrier stopping people from returning to their offices and spending their cash in central London – our creaking transport system. While some people will still be avoiding the tube and buses, mindful of being in crowded places, others are happy to wear a mask and get back to commuting.
But what about longer distance passengers? And those who live off the tube map and in the south of the borough, reliant on trains that were too often delayed, late and overcrowded even before social distancing?
This week we report that Govia Thameslink Railway services have implemented ‘savage cuts’, with a reduced timetable, delays and cancellations leaving some places with just one train an hour.
How is this a return to normal?
Who will brave going back to their office five days a week if they are sat at East Dulwich Station waiting 45 minutes for a train that doesn’t arrive?
Train operators say they have a shortage of staff and drivers due to COVID-19. The latest timetable was introduced in July. We are now in mid-August. If services can’t return to normal in the summer months, what hope is there come autumn when they have Norovirus, flu season, potential further winter waves of COVID-19, and bad weather to contend with?
Caroline Pidgeon is right to take the operator to task for laying the blame entirely on the pandemic. The Lib Dem assembly member, who also chairs its transport committee, rightly points out that before Covid GTR has faced serious timetable issues due to a shortage of train drivers.
The pandemic and pingdemic have affected all businesses and services, but this is another example of either playing the blame game or of a large cumbersome organisation failing to be flexible enough to deal with the problem. One thing’s for sure – the commuters in the south of the borough do remember the situation pre March 2020 when delays were ever present. So fewer excuses and get on with training and recruiting more drivers.