Not enough is being done to protect bus drivers from high temperatures, says Unite. Image: Jens Riesenberg, Unsplash License
London's bus drivers need better protection from summer heatwave temperatures, says the trade union Unite.
With soaring heat now a fixture of the capital's summers, the temperature inside driver cabs can often exceed 40 degrees, which Unite says can heavily impact driver health and wellbeing, and exacerbate the 'already dangerous' problem of bus driver fatigue. This in turn prompts slower response times, a lack of concentration, dizziness and even fainting at the wheel.
Said one anonymous driver: "In the hot weather, the cabs can get unbearably hot and stuffy. It is not good for our alertness and health, as well as our customers who are suffering as well."
Unite — which recently launched a Fight Fatigue Now campaign — says drivers have also complained that some buses, including newer models, remain in service despite broken air-conditioning, while older models have ineffective air cooling systems.
