Car-sharing is now allowed in lockdown Britain

People from different households will be able to car share as long as they keep the windows open to prevent the spread of coronavirus. 

Guidance from the Department for Transport suggests car sharing commutes will be permitted to limit the number of passengers piling on to public transport.

But car windows should be kept open to ensure proper ventilation and passengers should try and face away from each other to ‘reduce the risk of transmission’, the document says.

The advice was issued amid fears public transport networks could be rapidly overwhelmed as Britain returns to work today.

Millions of commuters are expected to swamp public transport today, but rail and bus operators are not increasing services until next Monday – prompting fears of chaos.

The DfT has admitted ‘there will be times and some settings on public transport where social distancing is not possible’, but insisted car sharing should only take place if absolutely necessary.

Commuters are being told to avoid public transport if they can by driving, walking or cycling instead.

To reduce the risk of infection on busy services, commuters are being told to walk the first or last mile of their journey to limit contact with other passengers and to face away from each other if social distancing cannot be maintained.

Ideally, they should walk for part of their journey – by alighting early to walk the last mile, for example – and choose the quietest, yet most direct, route to work with as few changes as possible.

All commuters are also being urged to wear masks or face covering and to avoid consuming food and drink while travelling.

Rail and bus operators are having to drastically reduce capacity to enable social distancing, although industry insiders fear it will be impossible to maintain a two metre gap between all passengers and union leaders have warned that workers may strike if conditions are unsafe.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps yesterday urged London Mayor Sadiq Khan to boost the number of Tube trains ‘as quickly as they can’.

In London, ministers are concerned the reduced Tube service will be rapidly overwhelmed as figures showed the network will only be able to take 15 per cent of usual commuter levels if full social distancing is to be maintained – even if 100 per cent of services are running.

Nationally, this figure falls to just 10 per cent of normal passenger levels with full social distancing in play.

Passenger numbers in the capital were already up eight per cent on Monday and are likely to rise significantly over the coming days as Britain slowly emerges out of the lockdown.

However, bosses at Transport for London, which has lost £4billion during the pandemic, have warned that increases in services will only be gradual, with 70 per cent of services eventually restored – but not until May 18.

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Shapps said: ‘I have spoken to, communicated with the mayor and his deputy mayor over the weekend. I am encouraging them and working very closely with TfL to boost those services just as quickly as they can and there’s more to go there.

‘It is worth reiterating, even if those services ran at 100 per cent of pre-Covid levels, we would still only be able to take perhaps on the TfL 15 per cent of existing, usual commuter levels – so it is important that everybody looks for alternative means of transport.’

It marks the latest row between the Government and Mr Khan, who has been accused of a series of failings throughout the crisis – from scenes of packed Tube trains early on in the lockdown to a row over a lack of personal protective equipment for bus drivers. Some 42 TfL workers have died of coronavirus, though not all necessarily because of the jobs.

Yesterday Mr Shapps also confirmed he is working with tech firms to integrate ‘crush data’ into transport apps so travellers can avoid using the busiest services in the coming months.

For now, transport operators are being urged to rearrange, remove or limit seating to reduce capacity, with passengers encouraged to drive, walk or cycle to work instead.

Station managers have been told to close ticket halls and concourses if they become too crowded, with announcements about station closures made on social media.

The advice to passengers states: ‘Taking a less busy route and reducing the number of changes (for example between bus and train) will help you keep your distance from others.

‘Public Health England recommends keeping a two metre distance from other people, where possible. Where this is not possible you should keep the time you spend nears others as short as possible and avoid physical contact.

‘Try to start or end your journey using a station or mode of transport you know to be quieter or more direct. For instance, walk the first or last mile of your journey, or alight at an earlier station, where this is possible.’

The guidance also suggests single users of black cabs and minicabs should sit in the back left-hand seat of cars in order to keep a distance from the driver.

The Government’s approach has been criticised by the militant Rail, Maritime and Transport union.

General Secretary Mick Cash said: ‘Maintaining social distancing on trains and tube is a massive logistical exercise that requires planning, resources and the protection of staff managing the flows of passengers. To rush that exercise is a disgrace.

The Government last week announced plans to spend £2billion promoting a ‘golden age for cycling,’ with the money spent on wider pavements and ‘pop-up bike lanes’ to try and tempt commuters off public transport.