Agenda item

Report of Transport for London (TfL).

This report highlights measures TfL have made to improve Routemaster buses ventilation and reduce in-bus temperatures on hot days since their introduction in London, following safety concerns and queries raised by the Chair of the Culture and Environment Scrutiny Committee.

Consideration was given to the report of Transport for London (TfL).

The Chair informed the Committee that he had invited TfL to the meeting to respond to safety concerns due to excessive temperatures experienced by passengers and staff on Route master buses on hot days in London.

Tom Cunnington – TfL Head of Buses Business Development made the following comments in response to the Committee’s questions:

·       TfL did not believe that the buses were dangerous for passengers and staff. The organisation was working to improve the temperature on buses, this however was offset by there being an increasing number of hot days.

·       The organisation did not have a record of staff collapsing on Route master buses or other buses due to heat exhaustion in the last few years. There were a very small number of incidents of passengers feeling unwell on buses, however it was not certain whether this was due to heat or as a result of other issues and would need to be looked at more specifically.

·       The new route master buses were owned by TfL, run and operated by TfL’s bus operators who were responsible for keeping the buses in working order.

·       Where there were issues with the drivers’ air conditioning system in the buses, these were raised with the operators concerned when this became apparent. The drivers also raised this directly with their employer.

·       In cases of extreme heat on buses, there were a number of steps drivers were advised to take including wearing cooler clothing alongside other mitigations such as taking breaks in appropriate places. It varied from operator to operator as each had their own hot weather plan.

·       There was a separate cooling system for the driver’s cab as it was recognised that this was a more challenging area of the vehicle, the focus had been on making sure the driver’s air conditioning systems worked better.

·       The new buses that had been ordered would come with improved heating and cooling for staff and customers. The improved fleet of buses that would be introduced had come about as a result of research over the last two to three years.

·       TfL were the first in the world to undertake this research, it was aimed at understanding how staff and customers on board vehicles would feel comfortable in both hot and cold temperatures. It involved changing the design of the buses.

·       The new fleet of buses would have improved heating and cooling to keep temperatures down on hot days, the challenge for TfL was to keep the current vehicles as cool as possible in the interim.

·       The aim was to get the temperature in the buses on hot days down to the mid-20 degrees which was cooler than outside.

·       The specification when considering the heat and cooling system would also consider the number of people on board the bus.

·       The projection was for the new buses to be in operation towards the end of next year.

·       TfL was moving towards replacing diesel buses first, currently there were about 1200 electric buses, with half of the fleet now either zero emission or hybrid which reduced the heat on the street and stopped some of the heat entering the vehicle on hot days.

·       In terms of the breakdown of the number of people fainting on the different types of buses, fuel powered petrol buses compared to electric buses, this data was not available but could be provided to the Committee as far as it was available after the meeting.

ACTION BY: TfL Head of Buses Business Development

·       TfL had set a target of achieving zero emissions by 2034 which it aimed to bring forward to 2030. This however relied on third party funding including from the government.

·       The timeline was to replace at a rate of 600-700 new buses a year on average between now and 2034, depending on funding received this could be accelerated to 2030.

·       The new buses would have a new improved ventilation system which would eradicate some of the issues with the buses currently in operation.

·       In relation to paragraph 2.3 of the report looking at the possibility of optimising the current cooling systems on vehicles, tests were being carried out to determine the potential for the current systems to be improved, however a solution had not yet been found and there was nothing in place to indicate that improvements could be available next summer.

·       TfL measured temperature on buses and were aware of the issues with the buses on hot days and the impact this had on more vulnerable members of the community, the organisation aimed to do what it could to address these issues by working with the supply industry to design solutions and improve the ventilation system on board buses.

·       The aim was to make the buses as attractive as they could be including warm in the winter and cool in the summer using the available technology.

·       TfL recognised the risk to recruitment and retention of drivers and had regular engagement directly with the trade unions or through the operators around the issues and drivers concerns. The organisation wanted to make the job as attractive as it could to drivers particularly in a highly competitive market.

·       TfL had looked at the operation of buses in other Countries in Europe and talked to other operators around the world to understand how they were addressing heat issues and moving towards zero emissions.

·       However, many of the Countries that had been referred to such as China were very much still using diesel engines and vehicles.

·       The route master buses were designed about 15 years ago with the concept that the cooling and heating systems on board would keep the vehicle cool enough without the need for windows. In hindsight this was found to be wrong and the vehicles were retrofitted with windows.

·       TfL contributed quite significantly towards the retrofit cost, the total additional cost that TfL paid towards the retrofit was available which could be shared with the Committee.

·       It was a matter for individuals as to whether or not they liked particular bus types. These buses had been popular with customers throughout most of the year. Satisfaction levels of customers had been lower on hot days with all bus types and the new Route masters had been more challenging because of the way they were designed. They had however proved to be popular over time and every attempt had been made to make them as pleasant as possible on hot days.

The Cabinet Member for a Sustainable Camden invited to comment on the issue of route master buses and ventilation, remarked that bus ventilation was one important aspect, there were however many other important aspects such as improving bus journey times, getting more people using buses, the weight and location of bus stops. He informed the Committee that a lot of work was going on with TfL to improve bus patronage and journey times across Camden and he was happy to work with TfL to improve the customer experience.

The Chair thanked the TfL officer for attending the meeting.

Resolved:

That the report be noted and asked that the Cabinet Member for a Sustainable Camden continued to work with TfL to improve the customer experience on buses.