As Oldham teeters on the verge of lockdown we took a tram ride through the town

People alighting at the very end of the line at East Didsbury are lucky enough to get a seat, but after just a couple of stops it’s typically standing room only.

It’s the same coming the other way, with carriages resembling sardine tins as travellers from Oldham and Rochdale flock into Manchester for their nine to five.

During the pandemic, it’s been a very different picture.

Metrolink passenger numbers are now at just 35 to 40 per cent of pre-Covid levels as many continue to work from home. Services seem even emptier due to the deployment of double trams.

Half the carriages are empty on the 8am tram I board at Didsbury village – and passengers go out of their way to keep as far apart as possible.

As we reach Cornbrook, there are perhaps a quarter of the people who would normally be on a tram at this time. It’s usually a mad scramble as people change for Salford services.

The new government rules on travelling on public transport state all passengers must wear a face covering unless exempted for medical reasons.

Despite a raft of complaints being made over breaches of the regulations, it seems most are getting the message with everyone who boards my carriage between Didsbury and St Peter’s Square on Thursday morning wearing a mask.

According to Transport for Greater Manchester, 85 per cent of Metrolink passengers are covering their faces in the mornings, while 70 per cent are doing so in the evenings.

There aren’t any staff from Metrolink obviously out enforcing the new rules but posters at every platform drive home the message – wear a face covering or prepare to pay a fine.

Although many travellers already seem well versed in the safety measures, with plenty donning their masks ahead of the doors opening.

Most are wearing custom fabric masks, some colourful prints and patterns and others in professional-looking black material that hugs their face.

In the boldest fashion statement, one woman sports a glitzy gold sequinned version.

Further along the line into Oldham and several men style Manchester City or United branded masks.

A woman waiting for a tram explains her daughter has made her and her husband different themed masks, including for Christmas and Halloween.

The light blue disposable masks that have become a common sight across the UK are also widely on display, including the one I’m wearing myself.

But whether people are correctly disposing of them is another question.

They are supposed to be single use, but many commuters can be seen bringing crumpled and well-used looking versions from their pockets as they step through the doors.

As part of its reassurance for customers, Metrolink said trams were being regularly cleaned but already the carriage I’m on looks less than spotless.

Fingerprints and face smears are on the windows next to seats, and scraps of rubbish are in the foot-wells and aisles.

The virus can also survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours, which seems worrying considering that in the three hours I am travelling on the tram, I only see one cleaner wiping down well-used items, such as standing poles or door buttons.

The onus appears to be on passengers to sanitise before, during and after travelling, but it doesn’t inspire confidence that the carriages themselves are especially hygienic.

The cost of buying masks could be a barrier for some people who would otherwise travel on public transport, although Metrolink specifies only ‘face coverings’ meaning you could adapt a scarf or bandanna instead.

However as we travel through Manchester a few travellers begin to be less fastidious about their face coverings.

Some people appeared to be struggling with the claustrophobic feeling of having fabric wrapped round their face in the stifling hot weather.

Several passengers bring their masks down over their nose to allow for more breathing space – but completely defeating the point of wearing it in the first place.

Worn properly a mask prevents your own aerosols from being spread through the air, as well as protecting you from other people’s.

It’s important because the coronavirus is known to spread through moisture droplets – from coughing or even breathing – and can be borne in the air for several metres.

The first person to join the tram without a mask is a teenage boy in central Manchester, who looks nervously at each stop we come to, perhaps fearing he’s about to be pulled up by Metrolink staff.

However as we head off from Victoria the number of mask-less passengers increases.

Several men in work gear get on, seemingly unbothered that they are without face coverings and could be slapped with a £100 fine if caught by inspectors.

One woman who gets on wearing a mask quickly pulls it down below her chin so she can eat some biscuits, and then follow them up with a chocolate bar.

Others keep their masks around their neck to chat to friends or make phone calls.

While this means they are ready to hitch them up if they spot yellow jackets standing at the next platform, it isn’t protecting other travellers one jot.

In the absence of on-tram enforcement, no one gets called up on their behaviour by other passengers.

“You feel very uncomfortable when nobody is wearing one. But you can’t saying anything to someone because you’d get abuse,” says a woman waiting for her tram into Manchester at Oldham Central.

“We saw a bus driver being abused for telling someone to put a mask on.”

It’s only her second time back on a tram with her family since lockdown came in, and they are frustrated by the "selfishness" of people not wearing masks.

“I just think they have an arrogance about it, ‘you’re not telling me what to do’,” she added.

“I don’t think they think about it, especially the younger ones.”

Her views are echoed by another passenger, who has been travelling on the tram between once and twice a week after he stopped shielding.

“There have been quite a lot of people not wearing masks, mainly teenagers which you don’t feel happy with,” he said.

“I wouldn’t feel comfortable saying something to them. It’s a dangerous thing these days, you don’t know what they are carrying.

“The trams haven’t been that busy, but when it gets busier it will be worse if people aren’t wearing masks.”

However it’s also important not to underestimate the chore that is wearing a face covering for any significant length of time – especially during a heatwave.

After an hour or so of wearing my mask, my face is sweating and I can’t wait to get it off for a breather at a platform.

On the way back into Manchester I discover that my ears have started to become sore from the elastic. As a "new normal" it’s an especially hot, sticky, and potentially painful one.

But everywhere there are reminders of why it’s so important.

A tweet from Oldham council appears on my phone, informing residents that they are on the verge of a full local lockdown if they don’t abide by toughened social distancing rules.

And as many health and care staff have taken pains to point out, it’s a bit much for us to whinge about a few hours of mask-wearing in shops and on public transport when they have red welts on their faces from 14 hours in full PPE.

“Wearing the mask is uncomfortable but it’s something that I feel that we need to do,” a woman boarding a tram in Oldham says.

“We did notice there seemed to be more people than normal wearing masks.

“That does make you feel definitely more confident about travelling.”

Her husband adds: “But it is hard in the hot weather, as soon as we get to our stop we take them off.

“We don’t want another lockdown but there is not a lot we can do about it but abide by the rules, but a lot of people aren’t doing.”

On all the trams I travelled on during the morning, passengers without masks were in the minority.

But incidences of people wearing their masks incorrectly were commonplace.

It’s possible that this is a product of telling people to wear a face covering or else get a fine, but without explaining why it’s important for your health and others to do so.

Some people are doing their best to obey the letter of the law but not the spirit.

But to their credit most are making the effort to abide by the rules.

It should be a confidence boost to those that have been staying away that it is possible to travel safely and socially distanced on the Metrolink.