Open Letter That TfL's Franchised Bus Operation is "Institutionally Unsafe" is a fact, Mr. Dance! Open Letter from Kevin Mustafa

Document date

28-04-2025

28 April 2025​

By blogpost & email
Mr. Seb Dance, Deputy Mayor for Transport
City Hall
Kamal Chunchie Way
London E16 1ZE

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cc: Mayor of London; Transport Commissioner; Deputy Mayor for Social Justice and Communities, London Victims' Commissioner; Walking and Cycling Commissioner; TfL Board Secretariat; TfL SSHR Panel Secretariat; London Assembly Transport Committee Members; House of Commons Transport Committee Members; Sharon Graham - Unite the Union; Eddie Dempsey - RMT Union; Gary Smith - GMB Union; Barry Gardiner-MP; Tom Kearney (@comadad)

Dear Mr. Deputy Mayor,

Thank you for your delayed 11 March 2025 response (attached) to my 10 December 2024 Open Letter to the Mayor of London urging him to act immediately in support of the London Bus Drivers’ Bill of Rights Campaign.
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That TfL's franchised Surface Transport Operation is “institutionally unsafe”, is not an "assertion": it is a fact evidenced by (a) Justice Fraser's 27 July 2023 Sentencing Remarks (b) thousands of pages of documents released through Mayor's Questions and Freedom of Information Requests and—most importantly—(c) the lived experiences of thousands of Bus Drivers who work today in conditions that compromise their safety, dignity, health and wellbeing. It is also evidenced by TfL’s own published Bus Safety Performance Data, which clearly shows that 2024 was the most lethal year from preventable Bus Safety Incidents since 2009.​

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The existence of Legislation, Policies and various London-wide and Local Agreements which touch upon the issues raised by the Bus Drivers Bill of Rights, as you’ve outlined, is not in dispute. But please allow me be clear: it is TfL’s longtime failure to (a) monitor the enforcement and/or (b) permit the outright ignorance—of the protections offered from these by the holders of London's Bus Franchise Contracts that serves as the catalyst for this long-overdue Campaign. While TfL and its Chair do nothing but gaslight the public, Bus Drivers report well-evidenced unsafe conditions brought about by, inter alia, Excessive Fatigue, Unsafe Scheduling, Poor or No Access to Welfare Facilities, Broken Speedometers, Defective Mirrors and a Toxic Culture in which Bus Drivers who raise safety concerns are victimised or disciplined by their employers. Our concerns do not arise from rare events: they are frequent systemic problems that cannot be brushed aside by the City Hall with references to existing frameworks over which TfL—as London’s sole public bus franchise contractor—claims it has control but clearly chooses not to have any accountability.​

The Bill of Rights is not theoretical wishlist: it's reasonable and practical response developed solely by London Bus Drivers to a broken system—​

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London Bus Drivers' Bill of Rights
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 1.⁠ ⁠The Right to a safe work schedule without any forced overtime or loss of pay
 2.⁠ ⁠The Right to a decent and proper rest break in the working day
 3.⁠ ⁠The Right to drive a safe and well-maintained vehicle
 4.⁠ ⁠The Right to clean, serviced toilet and rest facilities on all bus routes
 5.⁠ ⁠The Right to report safety concerns without fear of retribution from TfL or employers
 6.⁠ ⁠The Right, when seriously ill and covered by a doctor's note, to not be harassed into coming into work until fit to do so
 7.⁠ ⁠The Right to relevant and timely safety training
 8.⁠ ⁠The Right to drive without being forced to answer radio messages and texts from Controllers whilst in motion
 9.⁠ ⁠⁠The Right to have all company rules in writing and clearly displayed
10.⁠ ⁠⁠The Right to be treated with dignity and respect by our employers, TfL and the public
11.⁠ ⁠The Right to Working Air Cooling in our cabs in the summer heat
12.⁠ ⁠The Right to Working Heaters in our cabs in the cold of winter​

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If the protections we demand you claim are already in place for Bus Drivers were working in practice, there would be no need for this Campaign. But they are not—and the rising anger among London's Bus Drivers makes that clear.​

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You cite TfL’s engagement with Unite. While that relationship is important, it cannot be used as a shield against the voices of drivers themselves, who are constantly proving to us that their concerns are not being heard or addressed by anyone, include those within Unite structures who are empowered to act. Our Campaign has emerged from the ground up because the existing mechanisms you cite as mitigants have obviously—and perhaps deliberately?—failed to deliver any meaningful positive change for decades.​

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On TfL Surface Trasport, Vision Zero will remain an empty slogan until the people responsible for delivering it—London’s Bus Drivers—are (a) Provided with the Rights, Protections, and Working Conditions to which you already agree they are entitled and (b) Protected by having those Rights reflected in TfL’s Framework Bus Services Contract. TfL acting on our Demand is not a matter of Public Relations: it is a matter of Public Safety on which TfL is clearly failing.​

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We are calling on you and the Mayor to meet with a delegation of Bus Drivers and Campaign Representatives in a Public Forum—like the London Assembly or House of Commons Transport Committees—to agree (a) a timeline where TfL will to write the Bus Drivers’ Bill of Rights into its Framework Bus Contract and (b) how TfL plans to enforce and monitor these Rights being respected and adhered to by its Franchised Bus Operators This meeting will need to be televised and recorded for public scrutiny. We are not asking for what already exists. We are demanding what has never been delivered by TfL, its Franchised Bus Contractors or Unite the Union: a Safe, Respectful, Transparent and Accountable Working Environment for those who keep London moving on the UK’s largest and longest-running Franchised Public Bus Network.
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I look forward to your response.
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Kindly note that I have copied the Mayor, some relevant City Hall and TfL Executives, the London Assembly and Commons Transport Committee Members and some UK Bus Workers' Union leaders to this email.

Yours sincerely,

Kevin Mustafa
Campaign Lead, Bus Drivers’ Bill of Rights Campaign
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Source: https://saferoxfordstreet.blogspot.com/2025/04/that-tfls-franchised-bus-operation-is.html
Auto-imported from Tom Kearney’s blog.