Bus drivers set to strike over ‘mini-Everest’ speed bumps

A
group of Reading-based bus drivers is set to strike in protest at having to
drive over speed bumps every day.

They
claim their route takes them over more than 1,100 "mini-Everests" every day, causing
back, knee and neck injuries, reports the Daily Mirror.

The
drivers also claim that passengers have been complaining about the rough ride.

Trouble
started almost three years ago when Reading Buses won the contract to provide a
shuttle service between the town centre and the Green
Park
industrial estate.

The
Transport & General Workers Union
says nine of the original 10 drivers have quit.

Branch
chairman Danny Downs told the newspaper: "It’s like someone behind you
kicking your chair more than 1,000 times a day. There’s a hump every 150 to 200
metres, and they are lethal.

"They
are much higher than most sleeping policemen – they’re mini-Everests."

The
drivers have given Reading
district council until Friday to agree to halve the route, and so halve the
number of humps, or they will stage a 24-hour strike on 5 November.

By Daniel Thomas

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