Overview

• Unite has issued letters giving bus drivers legal backing to halt or refuse service if their cabins exceed safety thresholds under section 44 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
• Drivers have reported temperatures above 40°C in many uncooled buses, describing interiors as “greenhouses” and citing frequent air-conditioning failures.
• Transport for London commissioner Andy Lord has directed that any bus without a working cooling or air-conditioning system must be withheld from service.
• The union warns that extreme heat can cause fatigue and drowsiness, increasing the risk of driving errors that endanger passengers, pedestrians and other road users.
• Bus operators have yet to roll out comprehensive cooling solutions, raising the prospect of widespread delays and disruptions as heatwaves persist.