Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan said in June that bus drivers will not be penalised for refusing to work when their cab is too hot
A London bus driver claims his pay was docked for refusing to work in a cab with faulty air conditioning. John, who has not provided his surname out of fears of repercussions from employer Transport UK, was allegedly penalised for taking his bus back to the depot when outside temperatures reached 34C on Wednesday, July 29.
Both Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan and Transport for London commissioner Andy Lord have said recently that drivers are not required to drive faulty buses when they fear it could put lives at risk. John has accused Transport UK of ignoring this and putting the lives of drivers, passengers and the general public at risk.
“In the morning I had no issues at all,” he told MyLondon. “My bus, even though I didn’t need it at the time, had working AC. Then I went on my lunch break, but when I went to take over my second bus at 11.30am the driver [I took over from] told me there was no AC. I could tell by his face that he was sweating and looked tired already.”
John added that within three minutes of setting off he could feel the intense heat. When he informed the controller, John claims he was told he could either continue but take regular comfort breaks, or take the bus back to the depot where they would find another one for him. John opted for the second option.
When returning to the depot, he claims there wasn’t a bus available so he was told to sit down while they waited for another one to show up. But during this, John claims an operations manager approached him and said he’d been removed from duty because he’d refused to drive the bus, meaning he wouldn’t be paid for the remaining 90 minutes of his shift.
“I told him plainly ‘You know, what you’re doing is just stupid. I’m refusing the bus down to safety. It’s my safety, and will be my passengers’ safety. If I decide to go on that bus and I crash, and I kill someone, then it’s much worse, isn’t it?’,” John continued.
“It’s crazy. I said to him, ‘We have the mayor, we have Andy Lord both on video saying, no AC, the drivers have the right to refuse.’ And he looks at me and says, ‘You work for who?” And I said, ‘for Transport UK.’ He said: ‘So, you have to follow our policies. Our policy on this is if the little fan in the cab is working, then the bus is fit. So, you’re refusing a fit bus according to us.’
“I am absolutely fuming. I’m the professional driver and I’m saying it’s not safe to drive a bus when it’s more than 40C inside the cab.”
In June Sir Sadiq said to LBC that any bus driver who fears their cab is too hot to operate the bus safely will not be penalised for refusing to work. Earlier this month City Hall unanimously backed a motion that calls for a bus driver ‘Bill of Rights’ to be enshrined in operator contracts.
Despite the Mayor’s and TfL’s assurances, many bus drivers claim bus operators are able to ignore their safety concerns without facing any repercussions.
Transport UK has been approached for a comment.
Looking for more from MyLondon? Subscribe to our daily newsletters here for the latest and greatest updates from across London.
