{"id":569663,"date":"2025-11-14T10:45:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T10:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/569663\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T10:45:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T10:45:16","slug":"london-bus-drivers-protest-against-inhumane-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/569663\/","title":{"rendered":"London Bus drivers protest against ‘inhumane’ treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bus drivers marched 2.5 miles from Islington Green to Transport for London (TfL) headquarters on Wednesday to demand an end to \u2018inhumane\u2019 working conditions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Drivers, their family members, safety campaigners, and politicians participated in the demonstration \u2014 which called for the \u2018Bus Drivers\u2019 Bill of Rights\u2019 to be enshrined in the employment contracts of London\u2019s bus operators.<\/p>\n

The march, which concluded with speeches outside TfL\u2019s Palestra House, was the third event coordinated by the Independent Bus Drivers campaigning group in the last year.<\/p>\n

Dylan, a driver who helped organise the march and wished not to give his full name, said: \u201cSometimes we\u2019re working eight or nine days in a row without having a day off. Our bodies are exhausted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re being forced to drive vehicles that aren\u2019t in a fit condition for the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019re not well and we\u2019re signed off by a doctor, our companies harass us to come back to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have regular access to toilets. We can drive for two hours and have nowhere to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Members of the Independent Bus Drivers say their dispute with the operating companies, which directly employ them, and TfL, which contracts those companies, is longstanding, but that the last five years have seen a further deterioration in their treatment and workplace standards.<\/p>\n

The Bill of Rights \u2014 which includes adequate rest breaks, toilet facilities on every route, protection for whistle-blowers, and an end to forced overtime among its 12 demands \u2014 is intended to arrest this trend.<\/p>\n

Functioning air-conditioning and heating in drivers\u2019 cabs also feature on the group\u2019s list of demands.<\/p>\n

It claims that many buses currently have neither<\/a>, with temperatures in cabs dropping uncomfortably low during the winter and exceeding 40\u00b0C in the summer.<\/p>\n

Dylan added: \u201cI sometimes have to take a spare uniform into work during the summer because we don\u2019t have working air-conditioning, and when I come off after the first half [of my shift], my top is drenched in sweat.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s inhumane for this to be happening in this day and age. We\u2019re only asking for basic human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

An agreement between Unite the Union \u2014 London bus drivers\u2019 only recognised union \u2014 TfL, and bus operators has established that routes with round trips of up to two-and-a-half hours<\/a> must only have toilet facilities at one end.<\/p>\n

Drivers say this isn\u2019t sufficient, and that many TfL routes still fail to meet this requirement.<\/p>\n

Speaking through a megaphone along the protest route, one driver spoke of frequently needing to enter pubs or shops and ask permission to use their toilets during shifts.<\/p>\n

Lorraine Robertson, a former driver with 17 years of experience, explained that the absence of toilet facilities is particularly unpleasant for women, and that she knows female drivers who now take medication to prevent themselves needing to go to the bathroom during shifts.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cOne woman, who was in her fifties, kept getting caught short. She wanted to go to the toilet often and there wasn\u2019t anywhere to go, so her doctor put her on tablets.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously females have periods,\u201d she added. \u201cThey\u2019re saying that we don\u2019t need to use the toilet for 150 minutes, but some women have heavy periods and need to change themselves about once every half-hour.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can they justify saying we don\u2019t need a toilet for 150 minutes? It\u2019s rubbish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A\u201cONCE THE DRIVERS ARE BRAVE, WE\u2019LL MOVE FORWARD\u201d: A campaigner protests outside TfL headquarters as his colleague drives past.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The South West Londoner has spoken to a number of drivers who wish to remain anonymous. All said they often feel pressured to drive unsafe buses, and described working conditions and shift patterns that leave them constantly fatigued.<\/p>\n

One driver said: \u201cEngineers will be told about a fault and say \u2018Oh it\u2019s just a light on the dashboard\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings like doors that don\u2019t work \u2014 everyone\u2019s had that.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut also blocked filters which can get hot and cause fires \u2014 and there have actually been fires recently \u2014 and issues with brakes get ignored too.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe agreement is that, if the bus has no working retarder, it shouldn\u2019t move \u2014 because obviously it\u2019s a braking issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, countless times, this happens and you just have to carry on. If you don\u2019t, they\u2019ll just send another driver out in it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen if something happens \u2014 if you have an accident \u2014 they say it\u2019s your fault that you drove it when you shouldn\u2019t have.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis kind of thing happens day in, day out. You can ask any driver.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the topic of fatigue, another driver said: \u201cYou start work early, then you start late, and then you start early again.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt some point, your body doesn\u2019t know if it\u2019s time for breakfast, for dinner, for lunch. That\u2019s not healthy at all \u2014 and it\u2019s very dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo they care? No \u2014 as long as they\u2019re within the law of giving you 10 hours between shifts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey tell you to rest eight hours, but it\u2019s impossible when you only have a 10-hour gap between duties.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you sleep eight hours, do you have a social life, can you spend time with your wife and your kids? No.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll drivers are suffering from fatigue, but to change that would mean employing more people \u2014 which is more expensive for the companies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, they don\u2019t want that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A driver\u2019s wife, who also wished to remain anonymous, explained that she was marching because of the toll she\u2019s seen her husband\u2019s work take on him and their family.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cWe have a son, but we don\u2019t have a family life. My husband drives long hours and his shifts can change at the last minute, so we can never plan anything \u2014 it\u2019s so frustrating.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s stressed every day. And when he\u2019s home, he doesn\u2019t have energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing married to a bus driver hasn\u2019t been easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Figures from across the political spectrum have backed bus drivers in their campaign to achieve the terms set out in the Bill of Rights.<\/p>\n

Lord Hampton, who recently sponsored five, ultimately unsuccessful, safety-related amendments to the Better Buses Bill<\/a> in the House of Lords, told the South West Londoner that there should be no need to legislate for the drivers\u2019 demands because they should already have them.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIt\u2019s all down to health and safety, and what you consider fair employment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re a well organised, cogent, intelligent group of people who obviously have these real issues. You should have the ability to go to the bathroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cFreedom from constant radio distractions \u2014 that\u2019s health and safety. No harassment to work when seriously ill, protection of whistleblowers without retaliation \u2014\u00a0 that\u2019s employment rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly being sent out in safe, well maintained vehicles? If they\u2019re not, that\u2019s criminal.<\/p>\n

\u201cTfL will probably say \u2018we don\u2019t recognise this because nobody\u2019s brought this to our attention\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if it has been brought to their attention and they\u2019re not doing anything about it, that\u2019s a very different thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside Palestra House, speeches in support of the drivers were given by London Assembly members Caroline Russell, of the Green Party, Reform UK\u2019s Keith Prince, and the Conservative Party\u2019s Neil Garratt.<\/p>\n

Former TfL board member Michael Liebreich also spoke \u2014 telling the crowd they were on \u2018the right side of history\u2019 \u2014 after a series of speeches by drivers and campaigners.<\/p>\n

Asked for comment, TfL Director of Buses Lorna Murphy said: \u201cWe are working together on a range of measures to further improve working conditions, health, and wellbeing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would like to reassure colleagues that any reports from drivers are always fully investigated, and our operators should never take action against people raising concerns about welfare.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe value all feedback and will carefully consider any proposals for improvements to safety and welfare.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murphy was invited to attend Wednesday\u2019s demonstration but declined.<\/p>\n

On the forecourt of its headquarters, campaigners did not agree that TfL supports whistleblowers.<\/p>\n

Prince said: \u201cWhen drivers have these grievances, they go to the unions, they go to the bus operators, and they\u2019re just persecuted. They\u2019re not taken seriously.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey whistleblow, then they become victims. I recently talked to a bus driver who blew the whistle and ended up getting sacked.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely outrageous what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sense that drivers cannot safely speak out against their employers was echoed by former bus driver and event organiser Kevin Mustafa.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIn the bus drivers\u2019 contracts, there\u2019s a whistleblower policy that says you should not speak to the press or discredit the company in any way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a driver turns up today, is photographed, and that gets back to the garage manager, that could put them in a bad place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mustafa explained that many drivers believed that, while their attendance at the march might not cause them to be fired, it could lead to them being singled out for unfair punishment later on.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThere\u2019s a culture of fear. That\u2019s why people don\u2019t speak up as much, and it\u2019s potentially why some drivers don\u2019t come along.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s a case of drivers being brave. Once the drivers are brave, we\u2019ll move further forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have liked to have seen more people today, but we\u2019re still putting a message out there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTfL know we were here today \u2014 and they know we\u2019re still fighting on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feature image credit: Ajay Smith<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bus drivers marched 2.5 miles from Islington Green to Transport for London (TfL) headquarters on Wednesday to demand…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":569664,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,143425,393,4884,257,18744,1264,11513,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-569663","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-bus-drivers","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-london","13":"tag-protest","14":"tag-tfl","15":"tag-transport-for-london","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115547651094509446","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569663","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=569663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/569664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=569663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=569663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}