#COVID19 @MayorofLondon @Heidi_LDN: Death of another (1 of 5 @ComfortDelGro Metroline) Bus Drivers covered sensitively by @Noel_Phillips @SkyUK. Cluster of Fatals at 1 Bus Operator might suggest Unsafe (no PPE, No Social Distancing) Garage Level Working Practices. INVESTIGATE NOW
This tweet from a vulnerable Metroline Bus Worker who was denied the opportunity to self-isolate by Potters Bar Manager implies (at the Garage Level at least) Metroline Managers putting TfL Contract Performance requirements ahead of Bus Workers' welfare
I’d hope @TfL Commissioner Mike Brown, Chief Safety Officer Lilli Matson, Surface Transport MD Gareth Powell & Bus Director Claire Mann were among ‘colleagues’ who recieved letter from Metroline MD Sean O’Shea sent confirming 5 of the 9 TfL Bus Worker Deaths were ‘on his watch’ 
b/c—as @SadiqKhan already knows well—he told @CarolinePidgeon @LondonAssembly on 22 March 2017 that "At the bus operating companies, the Managing Directors are ultimately accountable for safety." london.gov.uk/questions/2017… I hope some journalist will be giving O'Shea a jingle!
IMO since @ComfortDelGro Metroline Bus only accounts for about 19% (1729 of 9142) of @TfL's contracted For Profit Bus Fleet content.tfl.gov.uk/fleet-audit-re…, the fact that it accounts for 55% of #COVID19 Bus Worker Deaths that we know of TODAY is something worth keeping an eye on. @STcom
Yesterday’s Bus Driver C19 post suggests #Covid19 Risk =>twofold: 1) ON buses & 2 (& ignored IMO) WITHIN BUS GARAGES/DEPOTS. Does Metroline "Cluster" imply unsafe behaviour (NO PPE, NO R&R Provision for Social Distancing) at Garages merit monitoring?saferoxfordstreet.blogspot.com/2020/04/bus-dr…
Bus Driver 19 "If you think we are keeping to the national Social Distancing Rules, you are wrong. It's impossible. About 300 Drivers are at my garage. Imagine about 10 or maybe 15 Drivers are on break at the same time...All nearby restos/cafs CLOSED"
Bus Driver 19 "So we are all forced to spend our breaks sitting together in the same rest area...crammed into a space that's about the size of a small classroom. 10-15 Bus Drivers are all regularly sitting close together for 1 to 3 hours in a small room—none wearing PPE"
which suggests @transportgovuk @NHSuk guidance on PPE for Transport Workers is misguided & perhaps out-of-date?
NOTE: @MBTA is distributing PPE to Bus Workers
NOTE: @NYCTBus is distributing PPE to Bus Workers & MAKING PASSENGERS WEAR MASKS, a concession @TWULocal100 campaigned for & won from @NYC_DOT @NYCMayorsOffice it seems
But @TfL, @unitetheunion & London Bus Operators have all signed Tripartite Agreements (here's @TheGoAheadGroup & RATP) which accept Government's (IMO) MISGUIDED & OUT-OF-DATE VIEW on Provision of PPE for Bus Workers. @LeeOdams @BWTUC
Cf. @emmareyn @cnni good report today which quotes former TFL Board Director & Safety Panel Chair @MLiebreich echoing @NYCTBus: "He said every passenger should have to wear a mask, even if they were only homemade, to reduce the chance of infection." amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/04/08…
BUT if there's no PPE in Bus Garages as Bus Driver C19 states "It only takes 1 Driver to bring Coronavirus into the garage, &—w cramped conditions we now endure—pass it on to all Drivers who based there: & I fear that could be happening at Bus garages all over London right now"
In contrast to London Bus Drivers Union @unitetheunion and in harmony w what @TWULocal100 has won in @NYC_DOT, @RMTunion has stated it wants PPE for all @TfL Transport Workers, including Bus Workers. I agree w RMT. rmt.org.uk/news/rmt-keeps…
Distributing PPE for London's Bus Workers is "common sense" as @piersmorgan correctly told a (IMO) stumbling @SadiqKhan yesterday on "Good Morning Britain"
Not so much for providing protection from passengers (who should all be required to wear masks & to Social Distance, as @MLiebreich's consistently argued) BUT for providing Bus Workers protection in Crowded London Bus Garages which fail (or can't?) comply w Social Distancing
And I’d hope CLUSTER of #COVID19 Bus Worker Fatals in @ComfortDelGro Metroline Bus Ops would inspire MD to distribute PPE to All Bus Workers NOW to wear, at least, in Metroline’s Bus Garages & Depots. IMO (& to borrow an expression from @piersmorgan) “It’s Common Sense” #PPENow
