{"id":1147668,"date":"2026-08-14T07:15:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T07:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1147668\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T07:15:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T07:15:20","slug":"drivers-and-passengers-unwell-on-bee-network-buses-due-to-heat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1147668\/","title":{"rendered":"Drivers and passengers ‘unwell’ on Bee Network buses due to heat"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are more issues after passengers also reported difficulties in June.\"A<\/p>\n

A Bee Network bus in Manchester on Thursday (August 13)(Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

Bus drivers and passengers in Manchester have spoken of \u2018feeling unwell\u2019 on Bee Network vehicles because of a lack of air conditioning.<\/p>\n

One driver said on Thursday that he \u2018made mistakes\u2019 while driving in the 34C heat and nearly had to pull over, while a passenger said he \u2018felt sick\u2019 and had to get off the bus before his stop.<\/p>\n

Bee Network drivers at Piccadilly bus station in the city centre were seen with mini fans set up in their cabin in a desperate bid to keep cool.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter<\/strong><\/p>\n

It comes as calls are getting louder for better air conditioning on board Bee Network-branded vehicles, especially during summer when temperatures are high.<\/p>\n

Sam Sia, 28, is a regular bus passenger on the Bee Network\u2019s 111 service.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 35 degrees today but it feels like 40 when you\u2019re on the bus, it\u2019s like being in a greenhouse,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems to have air conditioning but it doesn\u2019t cool things down enough, so people started opening the windows.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sam<\/p>\n

Sam said he has struggled on the bus during his 30-minute journey(Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

He also struggled during the previous heatwave in June<\/a>, when temperatures in Greater Manchester rose above 30 degrees for three days in a row.<\/p>\n

Sam added: \u201cIn June I had to get off the bus early to get a drink, and I felt sick for three hours afterwards. I had to take time to get cool and rest.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does put you off taking public transport when it\u2019s like that, they really have to change their air conditioning system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bee Network drivers said they find it \u2018difficult\u2019 working when temperatures rise due to the lack of air conditioning.<\/p>\n

A driver on the 111, who asked not to be named, said: \u201cThe new electric buses are good, you can\u2019t fault them, but the old ones aren\u2019t though, it\u2019s like a sauna. You feel sorry for the guys driving those.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt got to a point yesterday where I nearly had to get off my bus and finish driving because it was so hot. I could feel I was making mistakes because of the heat near the end of my shift.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to know your limits in this weather<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

A driver on the 143 added: \u201cThere will come a point where something is going to happen to someone on a bus due to the heat.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last five years the heat in summer has gotten worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drivers and passengers also spoke out about the problem in June, prompting Transport for Greater Manchester to urge passengers to \u2018carry water, avoid the hottest parts of the day where possible, and wear suitable clothing.\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s understood that transport bosses will investigate any air conditioning concerns reported to it, and that it is working with operators over driver welfare.<\/p>\n

Nick Fairclough, TfGM\u2019s interim deputy director of bus, said: \u201cWe understand it is difficult travelling and working in these conditions, and we are doing all we can to make it more comfortable for staff and passengers on the Bee Network.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring extreme heat, as we have seen this week and throughout the summer, temperatures onboard buses are inevitably higher than normal. We would continue to encourage passengers to carry water, avoid travelling during the hottest parts of the day where possible and wear suitable clothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur zero-emission buses have heating, ventilation and air condition (HVAC) systems installed to help regulate temperatures. We\u2019d encourage any drivers struggling, feeling unwell or who have concerns about HVAC systems on their vehicle to raise concerns with their manager.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are more issues after passengers also reported difficulties in June. A Bee Network bus in Manchester on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1147669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8813],"tags":[15333,748,393,4884,2465,8825,16,15],"class_list":["post-1147668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manchester","tag-bee-network","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-manchester","tag-transport-for-greater-manchester","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117092637847775659","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1147668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1147668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1147668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1147669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1147668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1147668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1147668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}