Awale Olad leads the cross-party Culture and Environment Scrutiny Committee

TRANSPORT chiefs copped a Routemaster roasting this week as London’s buses were branded “saunas on wheels”.

Furious councillors said they feared people were at risk of fainting or worse due to heatwave temperatures. The anger was compounded when TfL said new cooler buses were on order – but would not be on the road until the end of next year.

Labour councillor Awale Olad said: “It means we have to live through another terrible of awful hot buses. I’m fed up of getting on saunas on wheels.”

As chairman of the cross-party environment scrutiny committee, he summoned Tom Cunnington, the capital’s bus operations chief at TfL, to answer questions at the Town Hall on Monday evening – with the grilling largely focussing on the state of the ‘Routemaster’ vehicles used on a host of routes through Camden. He said that on hotter days, like last week’s heatwave conditions people, were travelling in sickening conditions above 30 degrees which would be illegal to transport livestock in.

TfL answers to Labour mayor Sadiq Khan but there will be no solution until the later months of 2024 – after the citywide elections next May. His predecessor Boris Johnson had brought in the new wave of hop-on Routemasters in a callback to what he saw as a vintage age of travel. He famously claimed he liked to make model buses to unwind from the pressure of being a politician.

But his new fleet was designed without windows, which had to be retrofitted, and Mr Cunnington said it was accepted that TfL had “learned” from the design and the on board cooling system did not do enough to make drivers or customers feel more comfortable.

Cllr Sharon Hardwicke questioned the cost of needing to go back and modify the buses, describing them as the “emperor’s new buses” and adding: “I just wonder how the buses were ever commissioned – whether it was just for great photo opportunity.”

She added: “Those of us who choose not to drive and try to be living a more sustainable lifestyle, we’re basically punished because the only way to get around is on public transport.”

Cllr Hardwicke told the meeting: “I go on holiday and use trains and buses and I don’t ever recall feeling as hot in France or Spain, as I am in north London.”

But Mr Cunnington said that services in other countries with full air conditioning were still using power from diesel engines, considered unacceptable here in the race to reach net zero on harmful emissions.

On the Routemasters, he said that “part of the concept was an aesthetic design”, but there had been several changes since they hit the road, including new windows and white roofs to reflect the sun.

The meeting was told by Mr Cunnington that these buses had proved “popular” with customers but “satisfaction scores took a hit” on hot days.

He said he did not have records of staff or customers fainting, adding that TfL worked with the unions and bus operators.

“There’s no doubt that drivers do a difficulty job on hot days –  it’s a tough job,” he said. “Clearly in a market where it’s difficult to attract drivers to drive buses… we want to make the job as attractive as we possibly can, and that includes making sure that their comfort at work in the cab as well.”

He confirmed a cooler fleet of vehicles should be phased in “late next year”.