Bus driver safety during the covid-19 outbreak

That this House pays its respects to the bus drivers that have succumbed to covid-19 during this crisis, including 27 London bus drivers; thanks all bus drivers for their service; notes the invaluable job that bus drivers are doing to keep this country running; stresses that measures must be put in place to prevent further deaths; urges bus operators to close the front door of buses to the public where possible, to limit the risk of covid-19 transmission by stopping cash payments, to reduce passenger numbers and to guarantee bus drivers’ breaks are not taken on the road but in clean, safe areas that are compliant with social distancing; pushes for temperature checks of drivers by laser on arrival at bus garages; understands that a high temperature would result in a driver then accessing a covid-19 test and self-isolating on full pay while awaiting the results in order to prevent further potential transmission of the virus; recognises that such tests could be life-saving and prevent the deaths of key workers; and welcomes the work done by Transport for London and Tower Transit in piloting these ground-breaking temperature checks at a London bus garage.