Bus Drivers Protest At Tfl Hq Over Working Conditons

Transcript

00:00About 200 bus drivers have marched from central London to the TfL headquarters here in Southwark

00:07to protest about their day-to-day conditions behind the wheel.

00:12The bus drivers who are members of the Unite union say the conditions behind the wheel

00:16are inadequate and uncomfortable and can lead to them becoming fatigued and therefore more

00:21of a danger on the road.

00:23The problems include a lack of breaks such as to go to the toilet at either end of the

00:27route, a lack of meal breaks and also the temperature in the cab, either it can be far

00:32too hot during the summer or too cold at winter.

00:35They want TfL to draw up a new set of rules for all the London bus companies that operate

00:41across the capital under TfL's guidance.

00:44My name is Peter Skinner and I am the shop steward up at Green Bus Garage.

00:49And why are you here today?

00:50We're here because fatigue is an issue on London buses, the hours we work, the lack

00:55of facilities.

00:56Bus drivers have just had enough and we want to fight back.

00:59We say we need facilities, we need toilets, we need rest facilities and we need proper

01:04breaks between duties.

01:06Well the facilities obviously for bus drivers, there's not a toilet at the end of every route.

01:11That means you may go two, three hours without being allowed to use the toilet.

01:15We've got not proper break facilities so you might be taking a break on the roadside.

01:20Some of the breaks are two, three hours long so you might be wandering around the streets

01:24trying to kill two or three hours because there's no rest, no proper rest.

01:29I like Sadiq Khan, I do support him, however I do want him to listen to us.

01:36Yes, it does get a little bit annoying when he keeps coming up, this is another bus driver,

01:40this is another bus driver and yet things seem to get worse rather than change.

01:45I want him to, you know, if TfL sets the standard, if they say this is unacceptable, the operator

01:53has to listen.

01:54He has the power to change this, he is, you know, I'm not just a London bus driver, I

02:00am a London resident, I live in London.

02:02He is, you know, my elected mayor, I want him to listen to me as a resident, as a citizen,

02:08as a constituent and as a worker.

02:23you