Brighton and Hove and Metrobus are producing free cards to assist passengers exempt from wearing a face covering who may feel ‘anxious’.
The company’s existing Helping Hand card has been adapted to create a new card that reads: ‘Please be supportive. I’m exempt from wearing a face covering’. The company’s supervisor team are handing out the optional cards along with mandatory face coverings for other passengers.
Martin Harris, Brighton and Hove and Metrobus Managing Director, says he hopes the card will prove useful and has appealed to other passengers for understanding towards those exempt. He says: “It is crucial that passengers who can wear a face covering wear one when boarding and for their entire journey. It is one of the most important ways to help keep everyone safe, as well as being a legal requirement.”
Customer Service Adviser Mark Evans, who produces the cards, says they have been helpful. “I’ve had many customers thanking me. No one has to prove they are exempt but the card gives users the option of discretely sharing, if they wish to do so,” he says.
The company says thousands of cards have been produced so far. Colleagues are continuing to work through card applications as quickly as possible, though passenger can print them from Brighton and Hove and Metrobus’ website if they so wish.
