Grant Shapps has said that people can be refused travel if not wearing face masks on public transport from next week and may face fines.
Speaking in Downing Street, the Transport Secretary said that remembering face coverings should become a part of the daily routine as they become mandatory on public transport in England.
Anybody taking a bus, train or Tube from Monday can be refused travel if they are not covering their nose and mouth. Other indoor close-contact spaces such as shops will not require the masks.
Mr Shapps told Friday's press conference: “Remembering your face covering should be the same as picking up your phone, your wallet or your purse whenever you’re leaving your house.”
When questioned on why the masks are only needed on transport and not other spaces, Mr Shapps said: “By its very nature if you are on a train or a plane or a ferry or a bus you are in an enclosed area.
“That is not the case if you are out and about on the streets. And I think that may be the principal difference of this.”
One of the country’s top transport bosses said he is confident people will abide by the rules.
Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy said: “The reality of our transport systems and particularly as the economy ramps up is that there will be more occasions at which you might be closer to people than you would care for.
“So it seems perfectly logical to me and all my colleagues and transport operators to mandate face coverings now, because as we get to Monday and the restart of non-essential retail and looking at more people going to work it is much more likely that you’ll see, or be close to, other people.”
