LONDON BUS DRIVERS STILL FEELING UNSAFE

A LONDON bus driver has called for regular testing and better protection for staff as they “do not feel safe”.

Seats are not cleaned properly, and as many as 20 people are not wearing masks at a time on London buses, according to the driver of a busy London route.

At least 42 bus drivers have died from Covid-19 during the pandemic, latest Transport for London (TfL) data shows.

The bus driver, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “I have seen a lot of my colleagues fall ill. Some of them haven’t made it.

“Some have given [Covid] to their family members.

“Their family members have passed away but they have survived.”

Last week, staff at one bus depot were told 30 drivers were off sick with Covid, the driver added.

“We have drivers who get tested at home and still come to work after getting tested,” said the bus driver, who contracted Covid themselves last April.

“Then they get positive results at work. We aren’t safe.”

It is understood one driver died just five days after contracting coronavirus.

However, despite the clear risk London’s buses are still busy.

The bus driver added that the buses are often beyond capacity.

Although only 30 people are allowed on double decker buses at one time, this is very difficult to control and as many as 45 people are using the buses at one time.

“So many people refuse to wear a mask,” added the driver. “You hear the passengers arguing with each other.

“People do not follow the rules of the lockdown. “Everyone tries to be exempt.” In the second lockdown, as many as half the passengers on buses were not wearing masks according to the driver and still a quarter of passengers are not wearing face coverings.

Over the past eight months 128,000 people have been stopped from boarding a London bus, the Tube, a train or a tram until they have put on a face mask and TfL’s enforcement officers have handed out 1,700 fines.

More than 9,300 people have been prevented from boarding a

TfL service and 2,100 have been made to get off.

Around 10% of passengers have not been complying with the rules at the busiest times of the day and TfL has been working with the Met Police and British Transport Police to patrol known hotspots. Although the touch points that the drivers use are cleaned, the bus driver claimed not enough is being done to clean areas where passengers sit.

They have found chicken wings and litter after cleaners had supposedly sanitised the buses.

Despite having PPE and sitting in a sealed-off cab at the front of the bus, many drivers have had to additionally clean surfaces.

Demands have been made by drivers for regular Covid testing in the same way as other frontline professionals, such as teachers and NHS staff.

A petition set up to get bus drivers regular PPE has been signed more than 36,000 times.

TfL’s bus operations director Claire Mann said: “Every death from coronavirus is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with the friends and families of our colleagues who have died.

“Safety is always our top priority and we have been doing all we can to protect bus drivers.

“This has included a relentless focus on cleaning, ensuring driver’s cabs are enclosed and improving ventilation systems to make fresh air enter the driver’s cab. We will continue to do everything humanly possible to protect bus drivers from this awful virus.”