{"id":67771,"date":"2026-06-22T04:43:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T04:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/67771\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T04:43:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T04:43:07","slug":"london-bus-drivers-face-40c-heat-inside-cabs-during-hot-weather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/67771\/","title":{"rendered":"London bus drivers face 40C heat inside cabs during hot weather"},"content":{"rendered":"

London bus drivers are facing temperatures of more than 40C inside their cabs during heatwaves, according to a trade union.<\/p>\n

Unite the Union says the extreme heat inside cabs is putting drivers, passengers, and the public at risk by increasing fatigue and reducing concentration levels.<\/p>\n

Drivers have reported that newer bus models are still going into service in London despite<\/a> having broken air conditioning.<\/p>\n

Some buses are only equipped with air cooling<\/a> systems that cannot sufficiently reduce temperatures in the cab.<\/p>\n

Unite calls for urgent action<\/p>\n

Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, said: “For too long, London bus drivers<\/a> have suffered from the effects of high temperatures while TfL and bus companies have failed to act.<\/p>\n

“It is absolutely unacceptable.<\/p>\n

“Every year we have the same problem during hot weather and yet no progress is being made to protect workers.<\/p>\n

“This is a serious problem that risks the safety of drivers as well as millions of Londoners.<\/p>\n

“It requires immediate, decisive action, which Unite will not stop fighting for.”<\/p>\n

Why bus cabs become so hot<\/p>\n

Heat inside bus cabs can rise to over 40C because of a greenhouse effect created by glass windows trapping the sun\u2019s rays.<\/p>\n

High temperatures make driver fatigue worse, slowing reaction times, causing dizziness, and increasing the risk of fainting at the wheel.<\/p>\n

Long shifts in these conditions can become extremely dangerous.<\/p>\n

Some drivers also avoid drinking water to limit toilet breaks, which can lead to dehydration.<\/p>\n

Many newer London buses have air cooling systems rather than full air conditioning.<\/p>\n

These systems only circulate external air inside the cab without actively cooling it.<\/p>\n

As a result, temperatures can still reach unsafe levels.<\/p>\n

Drivers regularly report that air conditioning is often faulty and doesn\u2019t reduce the air temperature.<\/p>\n

Drivers describe conditions inside cabs<\/p>\n

One driver told Unite: “There is poor maintenance of buses.<\/p>\n

“Heating and air conditioning never works, if it does you can’t control to individual needs.”<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/p>\n

Another said: “In the hot weather, the cabs can get unbearably hot and stuffy.<\/p>\n

“It is not good for our alertness and health, as well as our customers, who are suffering as well.”<\/p>\n

Concerns over safety and reporting issues<\/p>\n

Unite believes that if air cooling or air conditioning is not functioning, the bus should not go into service.<\/p>\n

The union also says that drivers should be able to raise safety concerns without fear of being disciplined or losing pay.<\/p>\n

Pressure to complete routes and avoid delays often leads to overtime, further increasing fatigue.<\/p>\n

Ms Graham said: “No progress is being made to protect workers.”<\/p>\n

Union warns current measures are not enough<\/p>\n

Nadine Edwards, regional officer at Unite, echoed those concerns.<\/p>\n

Ms Edwards said: “While TfL and the bus companies claim to have protocols in place for managing driver health and safety during heatwaves, it is clear these go nowhere near far enough.<\/p>\n

“They must work with Unite to find meaningful solutions to this problem and ensure drivers are not disciplined when they speak up about a bus needing to be taken out of service as it is not fit to operate in high temperatures.<\/p>\n

“If this does not happen as a matter of urgency, drivers and the public will remain at risk.”<\/p>\n

Fight Fatigue Now campaign<\/p>\n

Unite\u2019s ‘Fight Fatigue Now’ campaign is calling for a formal approach to managing fatigue and more robust protections for drivers.<\/p>\n

Demands include a stop to disciplining drivers who report fatigue, a minimum of 12-hour breaks between shifts, and better rest and toilet facilities.<\/p>\n

The union\u2019s survey found that 52 per cent of London bus drivers said facilities at work were poor.<\/p>\n

Some drivers reported being forced to take breaks by the side of the road.<\/p>\n

TfL response<\/p>\n

Lorna Murphy, director of buses at Transport for London<\/a> (TfL), said: “Alongside bus operators, we take our bus drivers\u2019 safety and welfare seriously and contracts rightly require operators to meet high standards.<\/p>\n

“Bus drivers play an essential role in keeping the capital moving and we are working together on a range of measures to improve working conditions, health, and wellbeing.<\/p>\n

“Our bus operators have a comprehensive hot weather plan in place to protect all staff and customers during the warm weather, including air cooling systems fitted in all driver cabs.<\/p>\n

“If air cooling systems on a vehicle are not functioning and drivers do not feel they can carry out their duties safely, they should contact the controller and action will be taken to support them.”<\/p>\n

Ms Murphy said: “We encourage any driver with concerns to contact their employer, their union, or the Confidential Incident Reporting & Analysis Service (CIRAS) anonymously.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

“We value all feedback from the thousands of people who work tirelessly to keep London’s bus network moving.”<\/p>\n

Measures in place across the fleet<\/p>\n

All driver cabs are fitted with air cooling systems, and buses include reflective roofs, insulation, and opening windows.<\/p>\n

All new double-decker buses in London now have air cooling as standard.<\/p>\n

More than 3,000 of London\u2019s buses are zero-emission, a third of the total fleet, and TfL says these vehicles generate less heat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"London bus drivers are facing temperatures of more than 40C inside their cabs during heatwaves, according to a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67772,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[26],"tags":[26217,31655,31658,31654,31657,3166,27,20271,31656,1457],"class_list":["post-67771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-air-conditioning","tag-air-cooling","tag-air-cooling-systems","tag-bus-companies","tag-bus-drivers","tag-hot-weather","tag-london","tag-london-bus","tag-sharon-graham","tag-tfl"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116791935152870605","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}