London Mayor Sadiq Khan has confirmed that every TfL bus will be fitted with air conditioning in the driver’s cab by the end of May 2027, following a summer of strikes and growing pressure from the Unite union over dangerously hot working conditions.
The agreement, reached through an extreme weather taskforce set up earlier this summer, marks what both the mayor and union leaders are calling a “historic” and “ground-breaking” win for London’s bus drivers.
Mayor agrees to air condition all London buses by May 2027 after driver strikes
This summer saw London endure 40 days above 30°C, with some bus cabs reportedly reaching temperatures of 40–50°C during heatwaves.
Drivers described suffering from heatstroke, dehydration and fatigue, with some forced to stop mid-route because they were physically unable to continue.
Unite had warned that inadequate cooling systems were putting both drivers and passengers at risk, citing incidents where drivers narrowly avoided crashes due to heat-related impairment.
Around 1,500 Arriva North London drivers, based across eight garages including Wood Green, Tottenham and Enfield, walked out in August in protest.
What the agreement includes
- Full retrofit by May 2027: Every bus driver’s cab that does not meet current ventilation and air-conditioning standards will be upgraded by 31 May 2027.
- UV protective film: Cabs will also be fitted with solar film offering UV protection to reduce drivers’ long-term risk of skin cancer.
- Immediate protections: If air conditioning or heating is not working on a diesel or hybrid bus, drivers will only need to complete 35 minutes before returning the vehicle to the garage, rather than “sweating it out” for a full shift.
- Defect repairs before reuse: Any bus with a faulty cooling or heating system must be repaired before being put back into service, ending the practice of simply reallocating defective vehicles to another driver.
- Ongoing oversight: Unite is retaining its strike mandate for 11 months and will conduct regular audits and bi-weekly run-out checks to ensure TfL and operators stick to the timetable.
Newer buses joining the fleet are already being built to tougher ventilation and air-conditioning standards than older models, which were purchased when extreme heat was less common.
A new version of the iconic New Routemaster has been fitted with an upgraded air-conditioning and ventilation system
As part of the push to improve cab conditions, a new version of the iconic New Routemaster has been fitted with an upgraded air-conditioning and ventilation system and is now in passenger service testing.
City Hall says early driver feedback has been positive, and the bus has also been examined in a laboratory to assess how it copes in extreme heat.
Sadiq Khan described the agreement as “personal” and “historic”, saying: “It’s great news that TfL have reached this historic agreement to provide air conditioning in every single bus cab. We need to look after our customers and our workers.”
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Inadequate cooling systems in buses have left bus drivers having to endure appalling conditions this summer. This concession from TfL is an important win in Unite’s campaign to improve conditions for bus drivers in London and beyond.”
The commitment effectively future-proofs London’s bus network against increasingly frequent heatwaves, addressing a long-standing grievance among drivers who have worked in greenhouse-like cabs with basic air-cooling systems that only reduce temperatures by 2–3°C.
With planned strikes now called off, the focus shifts to delivery: engineers are expected to begin retrofitting cabs from November, with the full programme due for completion by late spring 2027.
