The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said – “Our heroic frontline transport workers have worked tirelessly throughout the immensely challenging past year, and I am hugely grateful to each and every one of them. We commissioned an independent review into the tragic deaths of bus drivers from coronavirus because we wanted to ensure we were doing everything possible to protect staff. As the son of a bus driver, this is deeply personal to me, and the transport workers who have lost their lives are constantly in my thoughts.
“The second part of UCL’s study makes clear that if the Government had announced a national lockdown earlier it would have saved drivers’ lives. We know that underlying health conditions and ethnicity were also contributary factors. The drivers’ survey has meant we have been able to hear from them directly, and I am pleased that the majority of respondents believe that the measures we introduced early on in the pandemic improved their safety.
“We will continue to do everything we can to keep staff and passengers safe, and from this week we will be further improving air flow onboard by fitting a new part to windows to keep them permanently open. We will also be implementing the report’s recommendations in full. This will include working with bus operators to ensure staff receive the best possible support and improved wellbeing advice, ensuring enhanced sick pay continues to be made available for those who are ill or need to self-isolate, and taking tough action against people who refuse to wear face coverings.”