RMT AGM Backs Emergency Motion on Bus Driver Heat Safety — Now the Reality Is Already Hitting Home

Yesterday, Thursday 25 June 2026, the RMT Annual General Meeting unanimously passed an emergency resolution on bus driver heat safety, cab temperatures and national standards.

I submitted the motion because I genuinely believe this issue has now reached the point where it can no longer be treated as seasonal discomfort, bad luck, or something drivers are simply expected to endure.

It is a safety issue.

It is a welfare issue.

It is a public safety issue.

And it is getting worse.

The resolution was deliberately bus-specific. I am a bus driver. I come from a bus branch. The evidence I have gathered comes from bus drivers, bus cabs, bus routes, bus operators and bus workplaces.

It was not written to overstate the position in other transport sectors. It was written because bus drivers are being exposed to extreme cab temperatures while operating large passenger vehicles in live traffic, carrying members of the public, often in vehicles that were never designed for the climate conditions we are now seeing.

The resolution is long, and it asks the union to do a lot.

But that is because the bus industry is missing a lot.

There is no clear national maximum cab temperature for bus drivers.

There is no consistent national standard on cab cooling.

There is no proper national heatwave procedure for bus drivers.

There is no clear joined-up framework between operators, the Department for Transport, HSE, DVSA, Traffic Commissioners and local transport authorities.

There is no consistent rule that defective or ineffective cab cooling should be treated as a safety-related issue during extreme heat.

And drivers are still too often left worrying about pay, discipline, blame or pressure if they say they do not feel safe to continue.

That cannot continue.

Now RMT policy

The motion was accepted as an emergency by the Standing Orders Committee, placed before AGM, debated and passed unanimously.

That matters.

It means this issue is no longer just something individual drivers are raising in depots, WhatsApp groups, complaint emails, defect reports or private conversations.

It is now RMT policy.

The union has now taken a clear national position that bus driver heat safety, excessive cab temperatures and cab cooling standards must be treated seriously.

James Haley, President of the Yorkshire & Lincolnshire Regional Council, welcomed the passing of the motion, saying:

“The RMT is backing its bus driver members in tackling the risks of excessive cab heat. The UK Government must introduce clear legislation requiring measures that protect the health, safety, and welfare of bus drivers and the passengers they serve.”

That is exactly the point.

Bus driver heat safety cannot be left to individual operators, local arrangements or drivers trying to cope as best they can. This now needs national attention, national standards and enforceable protection.

What the resolution calls for

The emergency resolution calls for bus driver heat safety to be treated nationally as a proper safety issue, not simply as a comfort matter.

It calls for action on excessive cab temperatures, defective and ineffective cooling systems, older buses, poor ventilation, lack of blinds, lack of fans, lack of UV and solar protection, and inadequate welfare facilities.

It calls for proper heatwave operating procedures, including access to drinking water, toilet facilities, cool rest areas, recovery time and additional breaks where needed.

It calls for cab cooling, ventilation and heat mitigation to be treated as safety-critical during periods of extreme heat.

It calls for mandatory standards on new buses and retrofitting of older buses where reasonably practicable.

It also calls for protection for drivers who refuse to take out, or defect in service, a bus they genuinely believe is unsafe because of excessive heat, defective cooling, ineffective ventilation or lack of heat mitigation.

That point matters.

No bus driver should be forced to choose between their health, their wages, their licence and public safety.

This is not theoretical

While I was at the RMT AGM as a delegate this week, I was contacted by a number of bus drivers raising serious concerns about the impact of the current heat on drivers in service.

I am not naming any drivers.

I am not naming any employer.

I am not naming any depot, route, location or duty.

That is deliberate.

These are live welfare and health and safety matters, and individual drivers must be protected.

But the pattern being reported is deeply concerning.

Drivers have reported cab temperatures reaching or exceeding 40°C.

Drivers have reported feeling unwell, exhausted, physically drained, sick, distressed, or unable to continue safely in service.

Drivers have raised concerns about long duties during extreme heat.

Drivers have raised concerns about defective or ineffective cab cooling.

Drivers have raised concerns about delays in getting support when they report being unwell.

Drivers have raised concerns about whether they will lose pay if they stop driving because of heat-related illness or genuine safety concerns.

Drivers have also raised concerns about being expected to continue operating passenger services in circumstances where they believe heat may be affecting their concentration, judgement, alertness or ability to continue safely.

These are exactly the concerns the AGM resolution was designed to address.

This is not about drivers wanting special treatment.

This is not about people “moaning because it is hot”.

This is about safety-critical workers operating passenger vehicles while exposed to extreme heat, fatigue, dehydration and operational pressure.

Bus drivers are safety-critical workers

A bus driver is not sitting in an air-conditioned office.

A bus driver is sitting behind glass, often with direct sun coming through the windscreen, engine heat, road heat, poor airflow, defective or ineffective cooling, and sometimes no proper fan or effective blind.

That driver may be working a long duty.

That driver may have limited recovery time.

That driver may not have easy access to a toilet.

That driver may be under pressure to keep the service moving, keep the mileage covered, avoid lost journeys and continue with passengers on board.

But bus drivers are safety-critical workers.

They carry schoolchildren, elderly passengers, disabled passengers, workers, families and vulnerable people.

They share the road with pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, cars, lorries and emergency vehicles.

Their concentration matters.

Their reaction time matters.

Their judgement matters.

Their alertness matters.

If extreme heat affects those things, then it is no longer just a driver welfare issue.

It becomes a passenger and public safety issue.

The system is fragmented

One of the biggest problems is that no one body appears to clearly own the risk.

The HSE recognises heat as a workplace hazard, but workplace temperature regulations do not properly cover vehicles.

DVSA focuses on roadworthiness.

Traffic Commissioners look at operator compliance and fitness.

The Department for Transport deals with national policy.

Local authorities and combined authorities deal with contracts, networks and funding.

Operators run the services.

Everyone has a piece of the system.

But drivers are still falling through the cracks.

That is why this resolution matters.

It now means RMT has a clear national policy position from its AGM: bus driver heat safety must be treated as a serious national issue.

Nearly two decades in the industry

I have been a bus driver for nearly 20 years.

I have seen this job get harder.

Traffic is worse.

Schedules are tighter.

Pressure is worse.

Welfare is still not good enough.

Many buses are older.

And now the heat is getting worse as well.

The climate has changed, but the industry has not kept pace.

Drivers are being expected to carry more and more risk while the systems around them remain unclear, inconsistent and inadequate.

That is not sustainable.

It should not take a driver becoming seriously unwell before action is taken.

It should not take a major incident before the industry wakes up.

Prevention must come before tragedy.

What needs to happen now

The passing of the emergency resolution is not the end of the campaign.

It is the beginning of the next stage.

We need proper national standards for bus cab temperatures, cooling, ventilation and heat mitigation.

We need clear heatwave procedures.

We need operators to risk assess extreme heat properly.

We need cab temperatures monitored.

We need defective or ineffective cooling systems treated seriously.

We need older buses reviewed.

We need water, toilets, rest areas and recovery time.

We need drivers protected from detriment if they genuinely believe it is unsafe to continue.

We need government, regulators, operators, local authorities and unions to stop passing the issue around and start dealing with it together.

Bus drivers should not be left to carry this risk alone.

The AGM has now spoken.

The evidence is growing.

The reports from drivers are continuing.

The next heatwave is not theoretical.

The next heatwave is the emergency.

Protect bus drivers.

Protect passengers.

Protect the public.

About the author

Lee Odams is a bus driver with nearly two decades of experience in the industry. He is Branch Secretary of the RMT Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Bus Branch and has been campaigning on bus driver welfare, safety, heat exposure, toilet access, working conditions and the need for stronger national standards across the bus industry.

He submitted the emergency motion on bus driver heat safety, cab temperatures and national standards to the RMT Annual General Meeting 2026, where it was accepted as an emergency, debated and passed unanimously.

Personal capacity disclaimer

This article is written in my personal capacity as a bus driver, trade union activist and transport safety campaigner.

The views expressed are my own.

It is not written as an official statement on behalf of RMT, my employer, or any other organisation unless explicitly stated.

References to reports from drivers are deliberately anonymised. No individual driver, employer, depot, route, location or duty is identified. The matters referred to should be treated as general reports of concern raised with me during a period of extreme heat and as part of a wider public interest discussion about bus driver welfare and passenger safety.

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