Call for bus driver rights in contracts ruled out

A call for basic rights for bus drivers to be written into operators' contracts has been rejected by the mayor of London, who said any proposed legislation could go "out of date very soon".

In July, the London Assembly proposed a so-called Bill of Rights which called for improvements to drivers' working conditions such as access to toilets on all bus routes, rest breaks and working air-cooling and heating systems.

Responding, Lord Khan said City Hall needed to consistently "evolve" its stance to best serve bus drivers.

Keith Prince, the Reform assembly member who proposed the bill, said: "Drivers deserve proper standards, not another excuse from the mayor."

City Hall has agreed to three of the 12 demands in the London Assembly's Bus Driver Bill of Rights that was passed unanimously this summer.

They include a pledge to install toilets on all of its bus routes and have all bus driver cabins fitted with air conditioning by May 2027.

Other asks yet to be agreed include the right to a safe work schedule without any forced overtime or loss of pay, and a decent and proper rest break in the working day.

Lord Khan has rejected adopting the proposed legislation in full, despite calls from campaigners on the issue and harrowing findings stemming from testimonies revealed by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Campaigners are calling for five basic rights to be enshrined in TfL contracts with all London bus operators, and that action is taken once the contract is awarded to ensure acceptable working conditions are being maintained.

"We need to evolve and find new ways to help bus drivers rather than having things stuck in stone that could be out of date very soon," Lord Khan said.

"We're going to carry on finding new ways to keep our bus drivers as healthy as possible.

"Ten years ago, we didn't recognise temperatures would be north of 35 degrees in cabs, and we do now. So I'm really pleased we're not relying upon a 10-year-old agreement or bill of rights."

Responding, Prince said: "For a mayor who so often reminds Londoners that he is the son of a bus driver, Sadiq Khan's dismissal of firm protections as being 'stuck in stone' is astonishing.

"My Bus Drivers' Bill of Rights includes proper rest breaks, safe schedules, clean welfare facilities and working air cooling, which was unanimously backed by the whole London Assembly."

Lord Khan insisted that he would work closely with Transport for London and the trade union Unite to "make more progress" on improving conditions for bus drivers.

He suggested that the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 was when the "public became fully aware of their importance" and that was "one of the reasons why we [City Hall] do a huge amount of great work with the trade unions".

"In the last 10 years during my mayoralty, we've invested more than £24 million in more than 150 toilets for our fantastic bus drivers - a basic human right as far as I'm concerned. Today I've announced a further £6 million for an additional 53 toilets as well."

The mayor also suggested that a move towards a publicly-owned bus company operated by TfL, as opposed to the franchise model now where TfL hands contracts for routes out to more than a dozen operators, could create "benchmarks" for basic standards and potentially create a situation which "others can aspire to".

However, he warned that TfL and City Hall were not yet in a position to confirm whether the transformation could happen. Feasibility studies with operators will begin this week, it is understood.

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