Update – 29 March

On 22 February 2021, the Prime Minister set out a four-step roadmap for the easing of restrictions put in place during the Covid-19 global pandemic.

These steps, with key changes, are:

  • Step 1 – no earlier than 29 March – ‘stay at home’ restriction lifted, although people encouraged to stay at home as much as possible. People allowed to meet outside in groups of up to six, or two households although you are advised to stay local and to minimise travel.
  • Step 2 – no earlier than 12 April – non-essential retail, outdoor attractions, and businesses such as hairdressers can reopen. Restaurants and pubs will be able to serve people outside, and people can stay – in their household only – in self-contained holiday accommodation
  • Step 3 – no earlier than 17 May – People can meet in groups of up to 30 outdoors. Indoors, the rule of six will apply. Pubs and restaurants can serve indoors. International leisure travel may resume.
  • Step 4 – no earlier than 21 June – all legal limits on social contact removed, restrictions lifted on large events

Update – 25 January 2021 – Travel to vaccination centres

To help people get to their Covid-19 vaccine appointments as safely and easily as possible, we have worked with the bus and tram companies to provide free travel before 9.30 (and all day) for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire concessionary cardholders travelling to receive their vaccine. Just present your appointment letter with your card when boarding.

We’ve also added the King’s Meadow vaccination site to the Medilink route to give people more ways to get to their jabs.

Remember we all still need to stay home, stay safe, and avoid unnecessary journeys wherever possible – but travelling for your vaccination is essential travel, and don’t forget you must wear a face covering when on public transport.

Find bus and tram route information here.

 

Public Transport

If you need to use public transport, you should follow the safer travel guidance for passengers.

Our travel operators and partners are making every effort to keep you safe when travelling on public transport. This includes:

  • Additional cleaning
  • Closing off seats to keep passengers apart
  • Installing bus driver screens
  • Extra signage at stops and on board
  • Contactless payment on board

You must wear a face covering when travelling on public transport. A face covering should be worn for your whole journey and cover your nose and mouth. You can be refused travel if you don’t comply and could be fined. Find out more here.

Please be considerate of other passengers, as exemptions will be made for very young children and those with certain health conditions. Not all disability is visible, so if you are exempt, we have made a downloadable card for those with disability or health conditions, which can be saved to your phone or printed out at home. You can show this to the driver, inspectors, or even other passengers to help explain that you do not need to wear a face covering.

Please avoid buying medical or surgical masks, as these should be reserved for health and social care workers. Instead, try making your own face covering at home, using scarves or other textile items. Guidance on how to wear and make a face covering can be found here

Walking and cycling

Walking or using a bike are great ways to get around the city, whether travelling to work, for exercise or just exploring the local area. They are also a great alternative to using a car and can help reduce pressure on the road network, which helps keep our air clean.

Please follow guidelines on physical distancing and if you share your bike with people of the same household, ensure you follow government guidelines on cleaning surfaces.

Don’t forget…

  • Avoid touching your face
  • Wash/ sanitise your hands frequently
  • Wash any gloves you are wearing
  • Where possible, wear helmets and reflective clothing for your own safety and those around you.

And remember, keep your distance:

  • When waiting at crossings & traffic lights
  • When using shared walking & cycling routes.

Emergency Active Travel Fund (Covid-19) Measures

  • To aid the country’s recovery as Covid-19 restrictions are eased, the Government announced an Emergency Active Travel Fund in May to help councils introduce measures to re-allocate road space for cyclists and pedestrians and encourage people to walk and use a bike more. The City Council has been successful in securing funds to trial a range of traffic measures, which will support the phased economic recovery for Nottingham.  The schemes could be either be amended, removed or permanently retained during the next few months as we test out the ideas to see how well they work. Find out more here

Ridewise and Sustrans

  • Ridewise have partnered with Sustrans and Nottingham Bikeworks to form the Nottingham Bike Aid project.
    Nottingham Bike Aid is providing assistance and offering personalised travel plans, bikes and more to key workers and volunteers who want an alternative method of making their essential journey
  • As part of the Nottingham Bike Aid project, Sustrans are offering bookable Dr Bike repair sessions

Hire Bikes

  • The Council has sought best practice guidance about sanitising the on street hire bikes during the Coronavirus outbreak. As a result, the frequency of bike cleaning and docking stations has been significantly increased. Individual users are expected to follow Government guidelines in terms of washing hands/using hand sanitiser after using the bikes and to avoid touching their faces

Car sharing

Those travelling by car should only do so with people from their household or within their support bubble, or if this is a work requirement. Outside of this, avoiding sharing cars with other people, but if people must then make sure to:

  • Share the transport with the same people each time
  • Keep to small groups of people at any one time
  • Open windows for ventilation
  • Clean your car between journeys using standard cleaning products; make sure you clean door handles and other areas that people may touch

Car Parks

  • You can now contactlessly pay for parking across all of our multi-story car parks by using our new RHParking app

Further Information & Resources