Too Hot to Work
Summer is one long heatwave, and bus drivers are on strike against impossible working temperatures.
Photographed on the first morning of strike action, 14 August 2026.
Even this early in the morning, the sun is already hot. The crowd moves across the pavement with the shade as the sun rises. Temperatures would go on to hit 35 degrees celsius.
“Driving a bus in these heatwaves is like driving a mobile greenhouse. Unite has distributed thermometers to members to monitor the temperature in our cabs. The problem is, these thermometers max out at 40 degrees celsius, whereas our cabs are getting much hotter than that. Some drivers who are bringing in their own thermometers are reporting in-cab temperatures up to 50 degrees. Work becomes unbearable. Drivers are having to pull over to douse themselves in water. It’s illegal to transport livestock in temperatures over 30 degrees, and yet we’re meant to keep driving buses in temperatures way beyond that. They’re asking us to do a job that’s physically impossible.”
Enthusiastic strikers walk round the crowd checking in with everyone. “Good to see you here, I knew you’d come out.” Friends welcome each other to the picket with hugs and smiles.
The garage is just off the main junction in Wood Green. Drivers honk in support. At one point an enthusiastic food delivery courier crosses the road to see what’s going on. A commuter shouts “the workers united, will never be defeated.” The pickets smile and wave.
The press have showed up. The heatwave element of the strike seems to have worked as a hook for news coverage. Above the street, people watch from offices. Commuters who arrive at the bus stops by the garage expecting a normal service are almost universally supportive.
The drivers are out across the eight garages that make up Arriva London North. 2,000 drivers are on strike across the sites. Across the Thames, however, the Arriva London South garages are working as normal.
