Following the ending of rules on mask use as part of Covid-19 restrictions, West of England Mayor Dan Norris is asking residents to continue wearing them while on local buses.
A recording of the Mayor on 460 buses across the West of England says: “I’m Dan Norris, Metro Mayor for the West of England. Thank you for wearing a face-covering on this bus. Together let’s keep our communities safe.”
Buses in the region are also displaying posters thanking passengers for wearing face coverings.
Mr Norris said: “If you can, please wear a face-covering to protect yourself and everyone else.
“A huge thank you to First for continuing to encourage the wearing of masks to keep passengers and drivers as safe as possible.”
“The Government have messed up here. To me it’s simple. The question is: is it safer for everyone if as many people as possible wear a mask in public? And the answer is obviously yes.
“We’re seeing soaring Covid infection rates so it would have been so much better to require people to mask up. But as the Government won’t step up it’s going to be down to West of England people.”