Train and bus services are to be limited as travel is restricted, raising questions for both passengers and operators

More draconian restrictions may be needed in London to stop the spread of the coronavirus, with guidance to avoid non-essential travel and stay home being ignored by some, while confirmed cases of sickness escalate rapidly. The prime minister, Boris Johnson, told his Wednesday press conference that he was prepared to take “further and faster measures” to tackle the disease.

Quick guide UK lockdown: what are the coronavirus restrictions? Show Hide What do the restrictions involve? People in the UK will only be allowed to leave their home for the following purposes: Shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible

One form of exercise a day – for example a run, walk, or cycle – alone or with members of your household

Any medical need, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person

Travelling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home Police will have the powers to enforce the rules, including through fines and dispersing gatherings. To ensure compliance with the instruction to stay at home, the government will: Close all shops selling non-essential goods, including clothing and electronic stores and other premises including libraries, playgrounds and outdoor gyms, and places of worship

Stop all gatherings of more than two people in public – excluding people you live with

Stop all social events, including weddings, baptisms and other ceremonies, but excluding funerals Parks will remain open for exercise, but gatherings will be dispersed.

Transport for London (TfL) is now moving to cut the number of trains and buses running throughout the week, most likely to the level of weekend schedules. On Wednesday night it announced it was closing up to 40 stations with no interchange from Thursday onwards. But what are the key issues transport chiefs need to consider when limiting services?

What a coronavirus lockdown might mean for London Read more

Transporting key workers

Axing the night tube, as Transport for London has decided to do from this weekend, may help limit the number of revellers on London Underground services. But much of night-time travel – particularly on buses – serves an often low-paid but essential workforce on antisocial hours, from cleaners to NHS employees. Far fewer of them will be working from home than users of the Waterloo and City underground line. From Friday the link used by rush-hour commuters to reach the financial district will be the first tube line to be suspended.

Public access to food shops and healthcare

Only about half of Londoners own, or have access to, a car. Guidance from the international public transport body UITP suggests that cities should plan to reduce schedules – but underlines that mobility remains an essential service, even in pandemics, not least to get people to hospital.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The weekend night tube services are to be suspended while London’s bars, clubs, restaurants and entertainment venues are closed. Photograph: Nastia M/Alamy

Safety of the operation

Although the official line being put out by senior Transport for London executives as little as a fortnight ago was that the risk of contagion was no higher on public transport than anywhere else, it appears that this has convinced neither commuters nor staff.

Tube passenger numbers have dropped faster than bus ridership – partly for the economic reasons outlined above. The Guardian understands that since the government urged people to stay home on Monday, use of the tube network has fallen by almost 50% from its normal level, with bus use down 40%.

Unions have also reported rising anger among employees who do not believe they are adequately protected from the virus underground, despite increased cleaning.

The UITP said a transport system “had to be considered a high-risk environment”, with a high number of people in a confined space with limited ventilation, touching everything from ticket machines to handrails.

Staff depletion

Whether or not staff have been at higher risk of contagion than any other group, TfL has still planned, as elsewhere, for widespread sickness and quarantining. The numbers of absent staff could soon make full services impossible, regardless of measures imposed.

Enforcing travel restrictions

Emergency powers being granted during the pandemic have already made some MPs uncomfortable. Policing and tracking non-essential movement could theoretically be easily done via Oyster cards and contactless payments on London transport.

TfL revenue

Like all transport operators, TfL is taking a huge financial hit. And coronavirus comes on top of other funding difficulties, including yet more Crossrail budget overruns. Tube revenues subsidise buses and other operations. Already, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has had to give up his cherished fares freeze pledge. On Monday, TfL warned of a £500m loss in projected revenues, even on just a 19% fall in tube usage the previous weeks. Now, that will grow substantially worse.