Bus drivers suffering heat fatigue are a danger to our busy High Road but are not to blame

Chiswick High Road is full of buses including the 267 which runs from Brentford to Hammersmith

Local bus drivers, whilst not taking part in today’s Unite ballot to strike over hot working conditions, are also at breaking point

“It’s like sitting in a sauna,” says the driver of a New Routemaster which regularly passes through Chiswick. “Imagine ladling water onto the hot stones and that’s what we experience – it starts hot, then it gets hotter, then hotter still, the more water you add, the longer the day goes on.

“The highest temperature I’ve experienced is 50 degrees C and [the operator] told me to put my thermometer in the footwell to get a ‘correct’ reading. Even in the shade it measured 45 degree C, though I would argue I’m working in the sun-filled glass box of the driver’s cab, not in the dark footwell.”

“It’s not just us,” says another driver with a non-effective air cooling system. “Our customers are also suffering.”

Many passengers are oblivious to the extreme discomfort that their drivers must endure, imagining that the sealed cab is deliciously air-conditioned whilst they sweat at the back.

But during hot weather, the temperature inside a driver cab often exceeds 40 degrees, even warmer than it is outside. The glass windows trap heat, creating a greenhouse effect and too many vehicles are equipped with ineffective air-cooling systems.

These systems take in air from outside and circulate it around and can reduce the ambient temperature by a maximum of ten degrees C, but bus drivers have said temperatures in the last heatwave have only reduced by around two or three degrees.

Dressed for the heat, an E3 driver begins his long shift for operator First Bus 

A driver’s cab is often hotter than the air outside

For this reason, nearly 2,000 Arriva bus drivers in north and east London are balloting to strike over “unbearable heat” and bus drivers in Chiswick and everywhere else will be watching closely to see what happens next.

Nadine Edwards, who is Regional Officer at Unite the Union, the UK’s leading union in passenger transport, explains the challenges:

“Each bus type has a different type of spec and only 500 of 9,000 buses have air-conditioning. We need to move away from air cooling. It’s not a great system to say to drivers just take a break when it gets too much.”

Edwards represents those who drive for First Bus and Transport UK, which run routes E3, 272, 440, 267 and 94 through Chiswick. Only one of these buses, the 94, is electric and has air conditioning.

Slated to be replaced by a more sustainable bus type, the New Routemaster is significantly more expensive to produce and run than a standard bus

Air cooling systems need to be replaced with air conditioning

Surprisingly, the H91 and 267 buses, known as the New Routemaster or “Boris bus” – despite the fanfare of their introduction – are not-fit-for-purpose diesel-hybrids and will soon need to be replaced by a fully zero-emission battery-electric vehicle.

For the drivers, the replacement of fleets of buses with non-functioning air-cooling systems can’t come soon enough.

Without air-con, drivers are experiencing heat exhaustion and stress. This was the subject of a recent survey, conducted by Unite, in which the impact was brutally laid bare.

The Metroline 237 bus connects Hounslow to White City via Chiswick

The consequences of chronic fatigue

Over 36 per cent have experienced sleepiness while driving two or three times a week and 24 per cent had this happen once a week.

Disturbingly, almost half (48 per cent) have had a “close call” due to fatigue in the past 12 months.

Fatigue causes a higher risk of accidents such as bus crashes and is caused by long shifts and insufficient rest.

The survey found that it is common practice to work 13 days on with one day off and that 12-hour shifts are also commonplace.

Fatigue is more than everyday tiredness which can be alleviated by rest. The 2,000-plus drivers responding to Unite’s poll said fatigue was causing concentration lapses and ‘micro sleeps’ – a fleeting, involuntary episode of lack of consciousness which is highly dangerous when driving.

“Even if you drink loads of water, fatigue builds up,” says the New Routemaster driver, “and if you don’t drink – because there aren’t toilets on the way – you get migraines.”

First Bus vehicles in the forecourt of Stamford Brook garage. This operator is working towards a fully electric fleet by 2030

Buses with faulty cooling systems should stay in the garage

Since 2006, air conditioning is a requirement on all London buses and TfL carry out spot checks, but a third of the ventilation systems are not working.

Unite has called for urgent action to protect London bus drivers. Earlier this year, they launched their Fight Fatigue Now campaign and asked TfL, London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan and the bus companies to meaningfully address all the issues.

In response to extreme heatwaves, the mayor has instructed operators that any bus with a faulty cooling system must stay in the garage, and drivers can stop working if their cab is excessively hot.

The mayor says stop working if it’s too hot

To help drivers assert their rights, Unite has provided members with a Section 44 letter – a formal notice an employee can give to their employer citing the Employment Rights Act 1996. In this letter, the driver can inform the bus operator of their right to stop work and protect themselves and others from serious and imminent danger.

But it is often a highly distressing scenario, adding to the fear of reprisal from the employer, when a driver has to stop driving and let his passengers know they will have to wait.

“You come out of the cab because you’re dripping wet and exhausted,” says the New Routemaster driver, “but though you politely explain you need to have a break customers can get very aggressive and tell you they’re going to be late.”

In the heat, everyone’s patience is wearing thin.

On route E3, The Chiswick Calendar spoke to Alison, who was using a hand-held fan to keep cool.  She says:

“The problem is we’re not used to extreme heat. The hot temperatures come in waves, so we’ve not had time to acclimatise. It doesn’t excuse rudeness.

“If I see any other passengers blaming the bus driver I will definitely step in and say something. The driver is not to blame.”

Passengers keep cool waiting under the bridge and are perhaps unaware of the challenges for drivers

Drivers are still scared to speak out

“Drivers have to deal with confrontational passengers, telling them they need to be somewhere,” says Edwards, but hopes that Unite’s campaign and recent media coverage will make the public more sympathetic.

“If a bus went rogue on Chiswick High Road, it would be very dangerous, very quickly,” says Edwards.

But despite the high stakes, drivers are afraid to speak out, saying that bus operators are still penalising workers for expressing health and safety concerns.

Controllers have disregarded complaints of “sitting in a microwave” and drivers have been told to take a break at the side of the road only to resume working in the same sweltering cab five minutes later.

One new driver, whose identity we must also protect, says:

“Five minutes stand time is not sufficient to get the brain reset. That five minutes is on the duty card, so it’s very difficult to keep to the timetable.”

Health issues are mounting up

Another, also unwilling to go on record, says:

“I feel like I’m about to fall asleep. My body is so tired and aching from seven days on duty and the heat is adding to that tiredness. If I don’t work, I can’t provide for my family, so I suck it up and drive just to get to the destination and stretch my legs. I hope something gets done about fatigue before it’s too late.”

Driving in a heatwave is clearly taking its toll. Many drivers are also reporting health issues – chronic pain, cardiovascular problems, stress and anxiety – to add to complaints of unsafe working schedules.

“I’ve suffered migraines being in a cab where the temperature is hotter than outside. [The bus company] think by putting a little fan in the cab it helps, but it doesn’t.”

Drivers on the E3 route, which connects Greenford to Chiswick, take breaks on the side of the road

The Bus Drivers ‘Bill of Rights’

On 2 July, 2026, the Bus Drivers ‘Bill of Rights’, was unanimously voted for by 21 London Assembly members, but such high-level support is meaningless if not followed up by action.

Assembly Member Keith Prince’s motion proposed that bus drivers have access to toilets, rest breaks, no forced overtime, the right to report safety concerns without fear of punishment and working air-cooling and heating systems.

Unite the Union is very aware that the lack of lavatories is so much worse in hot weather when keeping hydrated is important.

“We’ve got a situation where bus drivers are not drinking water because they don’t have toilets, which in normal times would make them fatigued, but in a heatwave could make them faint,” says Edwards.

She is, however, optimistic about the mayor’s recent promises, citing the videos he has publicly posted saying bus drivers should not be penalised.

A fortnightly taskforce to tackle the issues

“We’ve now got a task force set up with Unite, TfL and the bus companies, which will meet fortnightly.”

Not everyone is convinced that this will deliver lasting change.

On social media platform X, Tom Kearney of London Bus Watch likened the taskforce to:

“the Titanic’s captain inviting the crew and shipowners to a meeting on the sinking ship to decide how to rearrange the deckchairs.”

The bus safety campaigner’s issue is that TfL and the bus companies all know that there has been “nearly a decade of well evidenced reports of systemic danger.”

A shady bus stop at Turnham Green is a welcome termination point for the driver of this 440 

Systemic danger

Unite’s regional officer Edwards acknowledges that the issues go much deeper than a sweep of retrofitting on buses that aren’t yet scheduled to be withdrawn. At the heart of the problem is the five-year cycle of tendering for jobs, which may be a process that could be re-imagined with the right leadership but is clearly a gargantuan challenge.

Edwards explains:

“The tender process as it stands rewards the lowest bidder. Each contract comes up for renewal every five years, so operators have to find efficiencies. They do this by not maintaining a bus or not putting on the air conditioning.”

“Even on the newer, electric buses, the air con drains the battery, so bus companies don’t want to put it on.”

The impact of climate change

Now that we’ve experienced record-breaking temperatures in the mid to high 30s for successive days, the situation has reached crisis point.

Edwards concludes:

“It would be wrong to go after operators and the mayor without being honest about the pace of climate change. In the past, it’s just been one or two terrible days a year, but now we’ve had three heatwaves, we need to act.”

The Chiswick Calendar contacted three bus operators, running routes through Chiswick. First Bus’s representative said ‘we appreciate your interest in the topic’ but would not comment further. Metroline and Transport UK did not respond.