Thread by @comadad

"Vision Zero & Bus Safety" Open Letter to @LondonAssembly #AssemblyTransport @CarolinePidgeon from former Bus Driver @KevinMustafa16 cc @KeithPrinceAM @JoanneMcCartney @sianberry @NeilGarratt @NJROnline @unmeshdesai @ShaunBaileyUK @ellyannab @anne_clarke saferoxfordstreet.blogspot.com/2022/01/vision…

"I am grateful that the Committee invited former London Bus Driver Lorraine Robertson to answer questions on 14 December 2021: it’s the first time I can recall one of us being so honoured to participate in a public session."

"As has been noted Lorraine, the only reason she was able to speak freely about the long-standing poor working conditions suffered by London Bus Drivers is because she does not have to worry about being fired by her employer for doing so." saferoxfordstreet.blogspot.com/2022/01/vision…

"In my experience, Bus Drivers' fear of speaking out about the @TfL Bus Operation's manifest safety problems is the direct result of having a toxic safety culture that stems from the Timeliness & Mileage Performance Incentives found in TfL Bus Contracts."

"any meaningful Investigation of @MayorofLondon #VisionZeroLDN MUST scrutinise how (a) TfL formulates, monitors & enforces these contract terms and (b) pursuit of these Targets by Bus Contractors directly affects Bus Driver decision-making behind the wheel and at the depot."

"'Private' Roundtable w Bus Drivers" Transcript that Committee carried out as part of its 2017 'Driven to Distraction' Investigation reveals same concerns raised by Lorraine Robertson dutifully recorded by Transport Committee on 9 February 2017" london.gov.uk/sites/default/…

"& formed the bases for, among others, Recommendations 4 & 5 when Driven to Distraction was published in July 2017" london.gov.uk/about-us/londo…

"A comparison of content of Feb17 transcript of the Transport Committee ‘Private’ discussion w London Bus Drivers w the substance of Lorraine Robertson’s testimony nearly 5 years later IMO proves @TfL ignored London Assembly Transport Committee Investigation Recommendations"

"with—in my opinion—the same contempt that TfL has ignored its Contractors' Bus Drivers’ safety reports for over a decade"

"More importantly: despite all the PR put out by the Mayor and TfL regarding Vision Zero & Bus Safety since TfL responded to the Driven to Distraction Investigation" london.gov.uk/sites/default/…

"Deaths of 31 road users from Bus Collisions, 7 passengers from Onboard Falls & 58 Bus Drivers from #Covid19 furnish further evidence London Bus Drivers’ concerns about H&S implications of their poor working conditions have never been made a priority by Mayor, TfL & BusCos"

In my opinion, TfL Chief Safety Officer Lilli Matson’s evasive responses to the common-sense forensic questions from @NJROnline

"& @NeilGarratt only confirmed my chilling conclusion: TfL & the Mayor ignore London Assembly Investigations contemptuously as just another ‘box-ticking’ exercise"

"Will the London Assembly Transport Committee Vision Zero Investigation be similarly dismissed by Palestra House and City Hall? On 15 July 2021, Keith Prince asked the Mayor a simple question london.gov.uk/questions/2021…

"On 16 July 2021, @GMBSouthern asked @MayorofLondon to look urgently at the private contractors delivering bus services for TfL and remove the link between punctuality and profits.” gmb-southern.org.uk/news/tfl-bus-k…

"Will you appoint an independent judge-led investigation to analyse the safety implications of how TfL contracts and manages its bus contractors?" HT>@KeithPrinceAM

"Mayor responded “NO. MY #VisionZeroLDN APPROACH is helping drive down the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSIs) on London’s roads and Transport for London’s (TfL) Bus Safety Programme is targeting specific areas that can make the biggest difference.”

"So that the current London Assembly Transport Committee Vision Zero Investigation doesn’t become just another ‘box-ticking’ exercise for City Hall & TfL executives..."

"will you consider asking the Transport Committee to consider appointing a judge to conduct a Professional and Independent Investigation "to analyse the safety implications of how TfL contracts and manages its bus contractors" that TfL and the Mayor cannot ignore?"

"Rest assured, many London Bus Drivers and I will be pleased to provide evidence for such a long-awaited and necessary Investigation."

Yours sincerely,

Kevin Mustafa