Transport for London (TfL) kept strict bus mileage rules in place during a sweltering 35C heatwave despite the Mayor’s pledge to protect drivers, internal emails have revealed. Between May 22 and July 7, TfL’s director of buses, Lorna Murphy, and the mileage monitoring lead sent several updates to bus companies on its guidance when temperatures reached the heatwave threshold. The rules were only relaxed during a brief four-day period between June 24 and 27 when the UK Health and Security Agency issued a red heat health warning.
Strict rules enforced during amber alerts
When amber alerts were in place during three other periods, companies were told by TfL that drivers were entitled to 20-minute rest breaks, but the operator would face financial penalties for any full trips not completed. TfL has since confirmed that operators would not be penalised for lost miles if the driver reported having faulty air conditioning. Despite this, drivers have alleged that even with functioning air cooling, their cabs can still get excessively hot to the point they become fatigued behind the wheel.
TfL kept its strict mileage rules in place when it reached 35C on June 23 due to only an amber heat health warning being in place. Under the same processes introduced last summer, they also would have been enforced on July 10 and July 30 when temperatures again reached 35C. Drivers have accused TfL of hypocrisy, claiming that by refusing to relax the rules on other hot days, London bus operators felt pressured to make their drivers work in unsafe conditions.
Drivers speak out
One driver, who asked to remain anonymous out of fears of repercussions from his employer, compared his bus cab with faulty air conditioning to a greenhouse where temperatures can reach over 40C. Last week, a driver claimed he initially had his pay docked for taking his faulty bus back to the depot when outside temperatures had reached 34C. Although management told him this decision had been reversed when he showed up for work the next day, campaigners claim bus companies have been pressured into taking these harsh measures due to TfL not relaxing its rules during yellow and amber heat health alerts. TfL denies this, stating that bus companies have a variety of ways to report lost mileage and not be penalised.
Air conditioning in buses has been a major cause of frustration among drivers and unions throughout the unprecedented summer heat. Air cooling systems have struggled to cope on warm days, while drivers claim they were not fit for purpose to begin with as they only make their cabs between 5-10C cooler than outside when working properly. More than 1,500 bus drivers across eight garages in North London, East London and Essex are due to strike later this summer over “completely unacceptable” working conditions.
Driver's shock at TfL
Dylan Carroll, who runs London Bus Forums, told MyLondon: “As drivers we are being pressured by our controllers to only take a maximum of 20 minutes to cool down before driving again in the same dangerous environment without proper AC. Because if the operators are being penalised [for lost miles] on amber heat warnings, the operators then have to put that pressure back on the drivers. And it's us that have to put our health and our safety in jeopardy by continuing to drive the bus, otherwise we're going to be sent home and not paid. It completely contradicts what we were told as drivers by TfL that they would prioritise our safety. I’m utterly shocked.”
As temperatures peaked in London on June 25, Sir Sadiq Khan told drivers that he did not want them working in unacceptable conditions. “Let me speak directly to bus drivers - if your cabin is too hot, I’ve given TfL permission, and told the bus operators, you must not be driving that bus,” he told LBC. “Please think about your personal safety, please think about your passengers - you will not be penalised.” Following the internal TfL emails being published in response to a Freedom of Information request, bus safety campaigners claim these promising remarks only applied to the brief period a red heat health alert was in place.
TfL's response
A spokesperson for TfL added: “This guidance refers only to codes used by operators when reporting lost mileage to TfL. It does not in any way mean that drivers should be penalised for refusing to drive a bus if they feel it is not safe to do so, including in an amber weather alert. Other codes are available for operators to record lost mileage, including separate codes covering mechanical failures such as faulty air cooling. These codes remain available to operators outside of red weather alerts and they are expected to use these codes if a mechanical failure has resulted in a bus being unsafe to operate. Any reports from drivers are always fully investigated, and our operators should never take action against people raising concerns about welfare. We take our bus drivers’ safety and welfare seriously and contracts rightly require operators to meet high standards. Bus drivers play an essential role in keeping the capital moving and we are working together on a range of measures to improve working conditions, health and wellbeing.”
