More than 1,500 Arriva bus drivers are preparing to walk out across London as a dispute over sweltering working conditions heats up…quite literally.

Drivers working for Arriva North London will begin strike action on Friday (August 14), with 26 days of industrial action planned across August, September and October. Around 42 routes are expected to be affected, with drivers across eight garages taking part.

More than 40 routes across north, east and central London and parts of Essex are expected to be affected, including some of the capital’s busiest services. Among them are the 19, 29, 34, 41, 76, 149, 243, 254, 279, 329 and 341, alongside night routes including the N19 and N29 and Superloop services SL1 and SL2. 

The dispute centres around temperatures inside drivers’ cabs, with Unite claiming workers have been forced to endure temperatures of 40°C and above. The union says the air-cooling systems currently installed are not effective enough, with drivers instead calling for proper air conditioning. One union representative described working on the buses during extreme heat as being inside a “mobile greenhouse.”

The strike comes during an exceptionally hot summer for the UK, with London currently experiencing its fifth heatwave of the year. The repeated spells of high temperatures have once again put the realities of travelling around the capital during summer under the spotlight.

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For Londoners, a packed bus on a hot day can already be a dreaded journey. Unlike the fully air-conditioned experience many might expect from other forms of transport, much of London's bus fleet does not offer passengers conventional air conditioning. Add closed windows, direct sunlight and dozens of passengers contributing extra body heat, and temperatures inside can feel even more unbearable.

But while strikes disrupting dozens of routes would usually spark frustration among commuters, the reaction this time around has been surprisingly sympathetic.

Many people appear to understand exactly where drivers are coming from after experiencing London's buses during the summer themselves.

“I don’t blame them, buses need AC,” one person commented.

Another joked about the notoriously temperamental temperatures on public transport, writing:

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“Blowing out cold air in the winter and hot air in the summer.”

Drivers are expected to walk out on several dates beginning August 14, with further action currently scheduled through to October unless the dispute is resolved.

With increasingly hot UK summers and heatwaves becoming a more prominent concern, the dispute has raised a wider question about whether London's buses are properly equipped for the temperatures both drivers and passengers are now facing.

Residents, do the drivers have a point — is it time for proper AC on London buses? 🥵🚌

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