Around 200 activists marched on Transport for London headquarters to demand a ‘bill of rights’ for bus drivers to kickstart their campaign.
The organisation rallied on 5th November to demand TfL incorporate specific rights including safe work schedules, toilets on routes and temperature-control for cabs into their framework and have promised more action to come.
Spokesman Kevin Mustafa has been campaigning for bus drivers’ rights since leaving the industry in 2021 and warned about the dangers of inaction.
He said: “TfL are fully aware of the institutionally unsafe environment bus drivers are working in.
“It’s only a matter of time before there’s going to be an atrocity.”
He claims that at least one person has died every month in London in bus-related fatalities this year, the first time since 2016.
The first mention of a ‘bill of rights’ came in 2017, but the campaign was renewed by Mustafa after a ballot to strike was initially delayed by the Covid-19 lockdowns.
Mustafa says TfL have ignored the London Assembly 2017 report and the investigation by Loughborough University into bus driver fatigue from 2019 which TfL commissioned.
The 2017 report found that safety training was insufficient and that the system incentivises speed over safety and in response to the 2019 findings, TfL said they would introduce rigorous fatigue management systems.
A spokesperson for Unite the Union who support this campaign said: “There’s been a collective failure of TfL and bus companies to address this issue.”
But Mustafa goes further and says the London model is fundamentally broken and is terrified the TfL model will be rolled out across the country, even after a former board member described it as “institutionally unsafe”.
A petition started by Mustafa to encourage public support has also garnered over 1,600 signatures within its first two weeks.
Mustafa said he worries about the freezing temperatures for drivers in the winter and drivers collapsing at the wheel during the high heats of summer.
He says he recorded over 44°c in the bus during one shift but was told over the radio that he must carry on.
Many of the drivers say there is a total lack of respect and that a culture of fear stops serious problems being reported, which Mustafa blames on bus companies chasing profits.
He said: “It’s the fat cat shareholders abroad that demand their share.”
One anonymous driver who supports the campaign says he has been expected to operate vehicles with defective brakes, no working radio and one bus that had no near-side headlight for over six months.
He said: “I knew from training school I was getting into an unprofessional environment.”
The driver said he and others had raised the issue about the headlight and many had refused to drive it but he had still seen it operational at night.
He added: “The mentality is, the bus continues, the driver can change.”
In response, a TfL spokesperson said: “Bus drivers play an essential role in keeping the capital moving.
“Alongside bus operators, we take their safety and welfare seriously and contracts with bus operators rightly require operators to meet high standards.
“We are working together on a range of measures to improve working conditions, health and wellbeing and are committed to ensuring that all staff have a fair work schedule, with safe vehicles and access to the facilities they need to carry out their roles effectively.
“We encourage any driver with concerns to contact their employer, their union, or the Confidential Incident Reporting & Analysis Service (CIRAS) anonymously.
“We would like to reassure staff again that any reports from drivers are always fully investigated and our operators should never take action against people raising concerns about welfare.
“We value all feedback from the thousands of people who work tirelessly to keep London’s bus network moving and will carefully consider any proposals for improvements to safety and welfare.”
The campaigners will rally at Speakers’ Corner on 14th December and march on City Hall on 19th December to hand over the bill of rights.
Featured image courtesy of Matthias Rhomberg, Wikimedia Commons
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