Bus fires

That this House is alarmed by recent reports of bus fires across the country; notes with concern that research by Professor Guillermo Rein of Imperial College London shows that buses may be significantly riskier than cars, trains, ships or aircraft, mainly due to the less-stringent fire-safety requirements governing them; further notes with concern that the probability of bus fires is 2.3 times higher than for cars; believes this poses significant risk to the safety of bus workers and passengers; supports calls from the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) that action should be taken to reduce the incidence of bus fires, including the introduction of more-stringent legislation, comprehensive evacuation systems for all buses, and a requirement for operators to report all fires on their vehicles and maintain a central record of all incidents; and therefore calls on the Government to support these demands and to set out steps they are taking to reduce bus fires.