The London Underground staff were furious as Tube commuters crowded into the public transport making social distancing an impossible task. The Aslef District Organiser covering London Underground, Tube lines and Croydon Tramlink tweeted the alarming number of people crowding into the Tube on Monday, March 23.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan had requested people to stay at home and only use public transport if they were a key worker. The mayor had warned people that several "people will die" if the rules weren't followed properly.
According to Transport for London, the use of the Tube has gone down drastically by 70 per cent in the past week or so.
Finn Brenan, Aslef's district organizer, tweeted the "heavy loading on some Tube lines this morning making social distancing impossible".
Endangering the vital workers
Brenan has said that the action by these people is endangering the key workers in London. He asked the government to take immediate action.
The Rail, Maritime, and Transport union general secretary said there was enormous pressure on transport workers amid the Covid-19 outbreak in the UK.
The fall in the number of passengers has also been on the bus routes which constitutes around 40 per cent of the commuters. But reports have been suggesting that the trains are getting busier and compared to last week several said it was tough to commute on the trains.
Closure of services in the UK
The previous week around 40 Tube stations closed for the foreseeable future to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in the country. The Tfl said they would reduce transportation through these services in the coming days after the closure of Waterloo and City line stations. This would include London Overground, TfL Rail, the DLR and the tram network in south London.
An NHS worker shared a letter that shared the importance of social distancing. The exhausted Ambulance Service employee issued an open letter that went viral on Reddit (which has since been removed) on Sunday, said that there was a need to be more socially aware of why there distancing was a must.
The letter has been going viral after the Mayor of London said that the police might have to take action to make sure that social distancing is in place.
