Bus drivers abused for keeping heat on despite heatwave

London bus drivers are being abused by irate passengers because the heating remains on in vehicles despite the recent heatwave, according to a union.

Unite claims many London buses are so inadequately maintained they can not turn off the heating during the summer meaning temperatures of 45C on some buses, making it hotter than Dubai.

Unite said it had been pressing the employers to ensure that air conditioning is fitted into the cabs of all the buses for many years.

Unite regional industrial officer, Peter Kavanagh, said: "The bus operators are not employing enough engineers to fully maintain the fleet to deal with this heatwave. Unite will be writing to Transport for London’s managing director to ask why this problem has not been sorted out yet, as this serious discomfort for both passengers and drivers happens every summer."

Read the story in The Metro.