First Aberdeen has launched an internal investigation after a large group of people without face coverings were filmed smoking and shouting on one of their buses.
The video, which was posted to Twitter, shows the rowdy crowd of around a dozen people singing and chanting on the Number 1 bus last Saturday.
The route travels between Garthdee and Bridge of Don, passing through the city centre, and the group is shown departing at the Castlegate.
Lindsay Gavine, who captured the original video, tagged the bus company in her tweet.
While social distancing restrictions were scrapped on August 9, face coverings remain a legal requirement for people travelling on public transport unless they are under five years old or have particular health conditions.
The Transport Scotland website says: “If you are not wearing a face covering without a reasonable excuse, you will be in breach of the law and may be liable, on summary conviction, to pay a fine.”
What has First said?
In a statement, depot operations manager for First Aberdeen David Adam said staff follow Scottish Government guidelines to “engage, explain and encourage customers to wear face coverings”.
He added: “To help protect others, we are confident our customers will do the right thing and bring a face covering to wear on our buses.
“Our drivers’ main focus remains on getting passengers to their destinations safely.
“Some people travelling, including our drivers in their cabs, will be exempt from wearing a face covering.
“We are dismayed by the incident in question and have opened an immediate investigation internally, but thankfully incidents of this nature are rare and we continue to see a high level of compliance of bus and would like to thank passengers for their continued support.”
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