Bus drivers strike as extreme cab heat poses risk of 'fatal crashes'
Drivers have compared their cabs to greenhouses or ovens, with temperatures exceeding 40C due to a lack of air conditioning during a record heatwave.
Bus drivers have gone on strike on Friday after they warn that the high temperatures in vehicles pose a significant safety risk.
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Drivers have warned that the soaring temperatures could lead to them crashing and passing out at the wheel.
Bus cabs have been likened to greenhouses or ovens, with temperatures exceeding 40C due to a lack of air conditioning during a record heatwave.
As temperatures spike to record highs, the absence of air conditioning it has been reported that uncomfortable conditions have worsened.
Over 1,500 Arriva North London bus drivers, from eight garages in north and east London and Essex, started two days of industrial action on Friday as the UK experiences its fifth heatwave of the summer.
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Reports have emerged of drivers suffering heatstroke, refusing to drive buses and narrowly avoiding crashes as a result of the working conditions.
The strikes, planned by Unite the Union for 11 different occasions between now and mid-October, are in the hope that Arriva will replace their air-cooling system with air conditioning.
Peter Crane, 62, who has driven for Arriva for 22 years, has pictured his cab temperature reading at 44C on Friday.
He said: “We’re so fed up, we get into the bus, and it’s absolutely boiling."
It makes you drowsy. It makes you feel a bit uncomfortable. You’re sweating, you’re sticky.”
“It’s like being in a greenhouse. That’s my life. You can’t walk out. It’s not like an air-conditioned office. Not like our bosses, our directors, who are driving by with what we need, air-con in a car; it’s cool.
Mr Crane was among around 50 drivers who were striking outside Wood Green bus garage in north London on Friday.
Protesters gathered peacefully with music on, holding posters reading “Too hot to work. Act now!” and union flags, and handing out pamphlets reading “No to heatstroke. Yes to heat strikes” as cars and buses honked horns as they drove by.
Sir Sadiq Khan told LBC that "no bus driver should be working in conditions that are oppressive and not safe for them".
However, striking drivers said they feared following Sir Khan's and Transport for London (TfL) 's advice because of potential sanctions from their company.
A driver named Peter Skinner, 56, told PA: “It’s very hard, very exhausting, tiring, it’s awful.
He added: “It’s absolutely pressing, isn’t it? How long is it going to be before a driver does pass out on the wheel? Think of the carnage of a 14-tonne bus with 80 people in it, that could make a big mess.”
Wasim Mohammed, managing director of Arriva London, said: “Extreme heat is creating challenges across many sectors, including London’s bus network. “
He added: “The wellbeing of our colleagues and customers is our top priority, and we are working closely with Transport for London to ensure appropriate support is in place.”
“We have already introduced additional support for drivers during hot weather, including regular breaks and welfare checks, and are continuing to invest in long-term improvements”
“These upgrades are complex and being led by TfL as part of its extreme heat taskforce. We urge Unite to come back to the negotiating table and engage with us constructively so we can avoid further disruption.”