A leading campaigner for London bus drivers has claimed that Mayor Sadiq Khan is too "afraid" to demand more funding from the government to improve working conditions, arguing that recent concessions on toilets and air conditioning are insufficient.
Muhsin 'Moe' Manir, who has driven buses in East London for almost two decades, said that announcements from City Hall on air conditioning and toilet access were only made after years of sustained pressure from campaign groups. He expressed frustration that drivers should not have to lobby for what he described as basic human rights in the workplace.
"Why do we have to have a Mayor that we have to push for basic human rights?" he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). "Why do we have to have a Mayor that we need to campaign for toilet access to again and again? It's because the Mayor is afraid to demand funding from Andy Burnham."
Recent TfL announcements follow years of campaigning
Last month, following years of campaigning from bus drivers, Transport for London (TfL) agreed to fund an additional 53 toilet blocks across the capital to ensure there were "suitable toilet facilities for drivers on every route." Earlier in September, the Mayor and TfL also announced that every bus driver cabin would be retrofitted with air conditioning next summer.
Mr Manir, who has been on the frontline demanding increased access to toilets for bus drivers on the 58 and 115 routes, said Sir Sadiq had been making a "political choice" when refusing to listen to their demands. He told MyLondon's new The London Brief podcast: "It is a funding issue - it's about protecting budgets and funding and prioritising it elsewhere rather than provide the funding necessary [for this]."
Accusing TfL of failing to invest in adequate provisions for bus drivers across the city, he said transport chiefs had made a "political choice" in opting not to spend the money where it's most needed. "We could have toilet facilities on all the bus networks. I think the 53 [new toilet blocks] is still insufficient, there's more to do and more to invest," he added.
Union member warns of potential industrial action
A member of Unite the union, the veteran bus driver claimed the Mayor and TfL used the announcements to "push the unions back" temporarily by "buying time...to avoid a winter of discontent." However, he warned that should the Mayor not achieve what has been promised, there could be significant industrial action next summer.
Pressure has been building on the Mayor and TfL to take significant action to improve working conditions for bus drivers since the heatwaves in summer. The cross-party London Assembly has also called on Sir Sadiq to accept the Bus Driver Bill of Rights in full, which would ensure basic conditions are written into future contracts with operators - but City Hall has refused this.
Driver expresses disappointment with Mayor's record
When Sir Sadiq was first elected to office in 2016, Mr Manir said many drivers had "hope." "Suddenly, we have a Mayor that had been speaking about bus drivers, his dad was a bus driver - we thought he would understand what we have to face," he said. "We thought the conditions, our blood and sweat [for this role], would be understood. But he's not gone far enough."
In a direct message to the Mayor, he said: "I'm an actual bus driver - I'm not the son of a bus driver. This is not the same industry that I thought it was going to be 20 years ago when I felt proud to be a bus driver. I'm no longer that proud bus driver because the system isn't designed to keep the network safe anymore. It's designed to make profits."
In a written answer to the London Assembly this week, the Mayor of London said: "I know what a vital role London's hard-working bus drivers play in keeping the capital moving around the clock, and that’s why I’m working hard to improve bus driver welfare and facilities, including installing modern air conditioning in all bus driver cabs by the end of May 2027 and delivering new toilets for drivers across the capital."
