The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings) (England) Regulations 2021

Requirement to wear a face covering when on public transport

4.—(1) No person may, without reasonable excuse, use a public transport service without wearing a face covering.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), a person is using a public transport service at any time when—

(a) they are boarding a public transport vehicle, or

(b) they are (whether or not for the purposes of travel) on board a public transport vehicle.

(3) The requirement in paragraph (1) does not apply—

(a) to a child who is under the age of 11;

(b) to an employee of the operator of the relevant public transport service acting in the course of their employment;

(c) to a person providing services under arrangements made with the operator of the relevant public transport service;

(d) to a constable or police community support officer acting in the course of their duty;

(e) to an emergency responder (other than a constable) acting in their capacity as an emergency responder;

(f) to a relevant official acting in the course of their employment or their duties;

(g) where a person is in any part of a public transport vehicle which is not indoors;

(h) where a person is allocated a cabin, berth or other similar accommodation, at any time when they are in that accommodation;

(i) where a person is in an area within a public transport vehicle which is being used wholly or mainly by people—

(i) eating or drinking, or

(ii) dancing;

(j) where—

(i) a person is permitted, or ordinarily required, to board and to remain in a vehicle when using the public transport service,

(ii) the vehicle is not itself a public transport vehicle, and

(iii) the person remains in that vehicle.

(4) In this regulation, “relevant official” means—

(a) an inspector, or a surveyor of ships, appointed under section 256 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (“the 1995 Act”);

(b) a pilot (within the meaning given in paragraph 22(1) of Schedule 3A to the 1995 Act);

(c) a civil aviation inspector, as defined in Annex 9 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation signed at Chicago on 7th December 1944;

(d) a border force officer (within the meaning given in paragraph 7 of Schedule 20 to the Coronavirus Act 2020).