Bus Industry Insights – Analysis and Commentary on Bus Safety, Transport Policy and Governance

There is a difference between a campaign based on opinion and a campaign backed by evidence. For months, bus drivers have been saying the same thing. Cabs are getting dangerously hot. Cooling systems are failing. Fans are ineffective. Ventilation is not enough. Drivers are becoming dizzy, sick, exhausted, short of breath and unable to concentrate. Passengers are sitting on buses that feel like mobile greenhouses. And yet, when you start asking the public bodies responsible for transport, safety, regulation and public health who actually owns the risk, the answers become deeply concerning. This is no longer simply about drivers saying “we are too hot”. This is about what the paper trail now shows. And what it shows should worry anyone who cares about public transport safety. The Minister Recognises the Safety Issue A recent letter from Simon Lightwood MP, Minister for Roads and Buses, sent in response to concerns raised about air conditioning on public buses, contains an i...

There are moments when a system quietly admits that a problem is real. Not through a grand apology. Not through a courtroom confession. Not through a minister standing at a dispatch box. But through the sudden creation of a meeting. A group. A task force. A process. That is where we are now with bus driver heat safety. Transport for London, Unite and London’s bus operators are now reported to be setting up a task force over bus driver heat concerns. That matters. It matters because for years drivers have said bus cabs are becoming dangerously hot. It matters because drivers have reported defective cooling systems, failed ventilation, sweating, exhaustion, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and struggling to concentrate. It matters because campaigners have warned about this again and again. It matters because journalists have exposed it. It matters because the London Assembly has now backed a Bus Drivers’ Bill of Rights. It matters because the Mayor of London has publicly ...

Bus operators often talk about passenger experience. They talk about customer feedback. They talk about comfort, reliability, accessibility and service quality. They ask passengers to complete surveys. They invite complaints. They monitor punctuality. They measure lost mileage. They collect data on almost everything. So here is a simple question. If passengers are sitting on buses that are excessively hot, uncomfortable, poorly ventilated or unsafe during extreme heat, should that not also count as customer feedback? And if drivers are expected to sit in those same conditions for hours at a time while carrying passengers in live traffic, should that not be treated as a serious safety issue? Because this is where the heat safety campaign now needs to go next. Not just driver evidence. Passenger evidence too. A Simple Idea With Real Power A fellow bus worker recently suggested something that immediately made sense. What if passengers using public transport safely record...

Over the past year, I have submitted a number of Freedom of Information requests looking at bus safety, governance and accountability. One of the most interesting strands has been my work around Transport for Greater Manchester and the Bee Network. When I began, my questions were simple: Who is responsible for bus safety? What governance exists? How is safety monitored? The documents now disclosed by TfGM paint a much richer picture. They show that bus safety under the Bee Network is supported by a detailed governance framework. This includes contractual requirements around safety management, incident reporting, operational control and contract management, together with committee structures responsible for reviewing safety performance. Operators are required to maintain Safety Management Plans and Safety Management Systems. They are also required to report on matters including collisions, passenger injuries, staff injuries, passenger assaults, staff assaults, RIDDOR incidents, serious ...

There are moments in a campaign when something that has been said for years suddenly breaks through. Not because the problem is new. Not because drivers have only just started speaking. Not because those in power have suddenly discovered what is happening. But because the evidence, the campaigning, the journalism, the pressure and the lived experience of workers finally reach a point where the issue can no longer be ignored. That is where we now are with the Bus Drivers’ Bill of Rights. The London Assembly has unanimously backed a motion calling for a Bus Drivers’ Bill of Rights. That matters. It matters for London bus drivers. It matters for the campaigners who have pushed this issue for years. It matters for every driver who has been told to just get on with it, keep running, cope with the heat, cope with the fatigue, cope without proper toilets, cope with poor welfare facilities, cope with pressure from control, cope with unsafe schedules, and cope with being blamed when...