The government is being urged to suspend peak rail fares and introduce mass testing for transport staff, to help the country avoid travel “chaos” in the run-up to Christmas.
Labour is demanding that Transport Secretary Grant Shapps present a “comprehensive travel plan” to the House of Commons next week that looks at the lifting of COVID-19 travel restrictions between 23 December and 27 December.
A temporary easing of restrictions has been agreed by the devolved administrations over Christmas, that will allow up to three households to mix in a single bubble.
Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy was appointed as a Christmas travel tsar in the week and will look at what impact the easing of the rules will have on the air, rail, and road networks during the five days, and scrutinize their preparedness.
Labour says more than two million people used the rail network to travel over Christmas and New Year in previous years, while millions more took car journeys.
To minimize the risk of overcrowding in trains, the party has called on the government to temporarily scrap peak fares during the lockdown-eased period.
