Covid: Nearly 4,000 maskless London passengers hit with fines

Unless exempt, passengers had to wear a face covering on Transport for London services

Nearly 4,000 passengers were issued fines for not wearing face coverings on London's transport network when it was mandatory to do so, new figures show.

Compulsory face coverings were put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus and reinstated amid rising concerns about the Omicron variant.

This rule was removed on 24 February.

Penalty notices up to £200 were issued to 3,996 people between 24 February 2021 and 27 January 2022, the mayor of London said.

Between 27 January 2022 and 24 February 2022, Transport for London (TfL) said it did not record face covering compliance activity.

Legal requirement

The fines were reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days.

People who refused to pay the fine within the time limit allowed could be prosecuted, TfL said.

Data revealed 7,283 people were stopped on London's transport network for not wearing a mask.

The figures also showed 2,325 passengers were asked to leave the network.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the safety of TfL's customers and staff is "always a top priority".

He said: "A range of measures helped to ensure customers can travel safely and confidently on TfL's services during the pandemic, including requiring face coverings as a condition of carriage both before and after they were a legal requirement, and continuing to strongly encourage them today. "

The stats were released following a question to the Mayor's Office from Labour Assembly member Krupesh Hirani.