Buses

The Local Transport Act 2008 gained royal assent in November 2008. It enabled the creation of Integrated Transport Authorities in the UK modelled on TfL, allowing these authorities to award Quality Contracts. Most of the Act doesn't affect London's bus workers.

The Department of Transport launched a consultation on the review of Domestic Drivers' Hours Rules. The rules, first introduced in the 1930s and largely unchanged since the 1960s, cover issues including maximum driving time, breaks, rest time, daily and weekly rest, record keeping and enforcement.

The consultation document can be found on the DfT website at

http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/domesticdrivershours/

John Kennedy, Vice chair London taxi branch, writes ...

Clause 19 of the London Local Authorities and Transport for London (no.2) bill seeks to introduce a “voluntary registration” for pedicabs that will allow councils and transport for London to issue fixed penalty notices for parking and moving traffic offences. The scheme is voluntary and therefore no owner or rider is compelled to register and therefore there is no sanction for those who chose not to operate under the scheme. The Head of Transportation at Westminster city council intends to give up to 30 ranks/bays for pedicabs to park/operate from and this will lead to reasonable members of the public believing that these dangerous objects are in fact regulated by councils or TfL in London.

RMT BUS members at London United will be mounting a protest at the company’s London headquarters this Wednesday ( September 9) in a fightback against the victimisation and harassment of RMT members building a fighting and campaigning union organisation that has challenged the company for a fair deal on pay and working conditions.

RMT is growing fast at London United and the response of the company has been to hit back at individual members of staff with completely unfounded threats that the union will not be able to represent them if they find themselves in trouble.

A busworkers meeting, organised by the RMT London Busworkers Committee, will take place on monday 24th august 2009, 5pm - 7pm at the Bulstrode pub, Lampton Road, Hounslow, next to Hounslow Central station. Among the issues to be discussed will be:

• the forced transfer of staff between companies
• the implications of the introduction of telemetric technology on buses
• excessive surveillance of staff
• harrassment of our members
• wages and conditions

and other issues of concern to our members.