Emma Ward
Director General
Roads, Places and Environment
Department for Transport Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road
London SW1P 4DR
Tel: 0300 330 3000
Web Site: www.gov.uk/dft
27 May 2020
To al Local Transport Authority Lead Officers
via email
Dear col eagues,
COVID-19 Restart Step 2 – Continuing to support local transport and its passengers In these
unprecedented times, local government officers across the country have risen magnificently to the
chal enge of keeping essential workers moving in the face of significant disruption. In particular, I
would like to thank al local authority transport and highways officers, like yourself, for your tireless
work, dedication, and commitment to keeping your respective networks running through the crisis.
This has enabled essential workers, such as our emergency services and NHS staff, to continue to
travel freely and safely so that they can keep carrying on the fight against the virus. As you are
aware, fol owing the Prime Minister’s broadcast on 10 May, the Government set out its roadmap for
how and when the UK wil adjust its response to the COVID-19 crisis. 1 Over the coming months, the
Government wil introduce a range of adjustments to social distancing measures, timing these
careful y according to both the spread of the virus and the Government’s ability to ensure safety.
These wil happen in "steps," as set out in the roadmap, with strict conditions to be met in order to
safely move from one step to the next. I am confident that, as you have done through the first step
earlier this month, you wil again meet the demands of this next phase and ensure your communities
wil be able to move around safely in line with Government guidance. Fol owing the announcements
from the Prime Minister over the bank holiday weekend, the Government has now set out its plans
to move to Step 2, including the reopening of nurseries and some years in primary schools
(reception, year 1, year 6), outdoor markets and car showrooms from 1 June. The Government also
intends to enable some contact for secondary school pupils with exams next year (year 10 and year
12) with their teachers, and the reopening of al other non-essential retail, ranging from department
stores to smal , independent shops, from15 June. Further to my letter of 12 May, and given the
capacity constraints on public transport as a result of social distancing guidelines, your authority wil
need to manage travel demand to ensure services continue to operate effectively for essential
journeys. Local transport authorities should develop suitable plans to spread and control demand in
their areas, in line with national guidance and communications. The Secretary of State has
announced a 1 www.gov.uk/government/publications/our-plan-to-rebuild-the-uk-governments-
covid-19-recovery-strategy Emma Ward Director General - Roads, Places and Environment
Department for Transport Great Minster House 33 Horseferry Road London SW1P 4DR Tel: 0300 330
3000 Web Site: www.gov.uk/dft 27 May 2020 range of measures to support Local Transport
Authorities and operators with this next phase. 2 This includes: • Further details on the new £250
mil ion Emergency Active Travel Fund announced on 9 May, to support the implementation of pop-
up bike lanes, widened pavements, and cycle and bus-only corridors. This represents the first part of
a longer-term cycling and walking programme for the next Spending Review period, announced
through the £5 bil ion buses, cycling, and walking package on 11 February. The Department wil write
to you separately with further details on this. • A further £283 mil ion in funding, made available to
local authorities and operators for bus (£254 mil ion) and light rail (£29 mil ion) services, to increase
the number of local transport services as quickly as possible. This is so that people who need to
travel by public transport, including critical workers in the NHS, can do so safely whilst observing
social distancing measures. This further funding for bus services is in addition to the Department
maintaining the Bus Service Operators Grant at pre-coronavirus level during the outbreak. I would
like to thank Local Transport Authorities for making those payments, as per Stephen Fidler’s letter of
25 March, and would like to urge you to continue to pay operators for tendered services, home to
school transport and concessionary fares at levels before any downturn. This wil enable operators
to continue to provide essential services to your respective local communities. The Department is
committed to supporting local authorities to develop their plans, and Departmental Area Leads have
continued to proactively engage to understand current assumptions and provide advice. In addition,
the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have also published guidance
on the creation of safer spaces, particularly around transport hubs and bus stops where there are
risks around crowd gathering affecting the ability for individuals to ensure social distance can be
observed. On 24 May, Minister Clarke announced the Reopening High Streets Safely Fund to
provides councils with an additional £50 mil ion to support business communities with creating safe
and welcoming spaces, and to prepare for the reopening of retail when the scientific advice al ows.
The funding can be used to support a range of extra measures on high streets and other retail areas,
including information for businesses and the public and street markings and signage. The MHCLG
guidance on the creation of safer spaces complements separate DfT statutory guidance expecting
local authorities to real ocate road space to increase the size of pavements and introduce new bike
lanes to reduce the pressure on public transport services.3 As mentioned previously, as we are
looking to upper tier authorities to lead on overal transport planning working, we would expect
lower tier authorities to co-operate ful y with, and respond rapidly to, the area-wide planning, to
ensure this is as effective as possible. I cannot stress enough the importance of first class
communication to passengers so that they can move around safely, and I would urge you to put
clear information at transport hubs and bus stops that your local authority is responsible for, in line
with MHCLG guidance. As you wil be aware, we have also launched our Safer Transport
communications campaign and produced a stakeholder toolkit to ensure consistency of 2
www.gov.uk/government/news/transport-secretary-announces-new-measures-to-keep-passengers-
safenow-and-level-up-for-the-future 3 www.gov.uk/guidance/safer-public-places-urban-centres-
and-green-spaces-covid-19 messaging around planning journeys, avoiding rush hour, social
distancing and considering alternatives to public transport which many operators and local
authorities have been amplifying across their digital channels and at transport hubs and bus stops.4
We have also worked with the Confederation of Passenger Transport to create a range of social
media graphics and posters to be displayed at bus stops and onboard vehicles 5 . Those are available
to use if you do not have your own versions designed. Please continue to engage with the
Department’s Area Leads on your plans to identify any concerns, chal enges, or local issues with
implementing changes in your areas. I, and my officials, wil do our best to keep you informed of
further developments with as much notice as possible.
Yours faithful y,
Emma Ward
Director General
Roads, Places and Environment Department for Transport