The new ‘Transport Support Unit’ was announced by the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps at the Downing Street daily briefing on Friday. He said over 8500 volunteers – including staff from the Department, its agencies and the wider transport sector – will be switched to the emergency effort.

In addition, around 9000 vehicles including trains, ships and helicopters will be used to help move patients, medical supplies and food parcels on behalf of NHS trusts and local resilience groups.

Highways England vehicles will act as mobile Covid-19 testing centres and Network Rail will make available vans and lorries to transport essential items.

“Now more than ever we need to work closely together, and the new Transport Support Unit stands ready to help our frontline staff and deliver crucial supplies,” the Transport Secretary said.

Grant Shapps also announced funding to ensure the continued supply of critical goods into the UK from neighbouring countries, support for light rail systems in Sheffield, Manchester, the West Midlands, Nottingham and Tyne & Wear to help services keep running, and a trial of drones to deliver medical supplies to the Isle of Wight.

At the Downing Street daily Coronavirus briefing yesterday, Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty presented data demonstrating that motor traffic had shown a “very slight trending up” in recent days. Road traffic volumes on Saturday were 62% lower compared to the first week of February, but had shown a 5% increase compared to the previous Saturday.

He added that there had been “a very slight increase in walking, but public transport use remains largely flat”. Evidence suggested, he added, that the “great majority of people continue to honour the lockdown, helping us to drive the number of cases down and take pressure off the NHS.”

(Photograph: Department for Transport)