National Express bus drivers in the West Midlands are enduring cab temperatures reaching 40°C during Britain's successive heatwaves, with passengers collapsing on vehicles and drivers reporting inadequate air conditioning across the fleet (The Guardian).

Three unnamed drivers, each with more than 20 years of service, described conditions inside the cabs as unbearable. The UK has experienced three successive heatwaves since late spring, with temperatures topping 37°C and June 2026 producing the hottest June day on record for the country. The Met Office warned in July that such climate extremes are becoming the "new normal" for the UK (The Guardian).

Unite, the union representing the National Express drivers, has been raising alarms since at least June. A press release dated 23 June 2026, titled "Urgent action needed for bus drivers as red weather warning hits UK," stated that cab temperatures can "often exceed 40 degrees" (Unite the Union). The union attributes the severity of the heat to glass windows that trap warmth and produce a "greenhouse effect" inside the driver compartment (The Guardian).

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham accused bus operators of leaving drivers "sweltering during heatwaves, risking their own health and that of their passengers" and of putting "profits before people" (The Guardian). Drivers have reported passengers passing out on buses, a safety consequence that elevates the issue from occupational discomfort to a matter of public welfare.

National Express responded by granting West Midlands drivers an additional 30-minute break to cope with the heat. However, many employees were unaware of the policy, and among those who did know, there was apprehension about potential impacts on pay and service levels (The Guardian).

The political response is now taking shape at both local and national levels. London mayor Sadiq Khan pledged further support for bus drivers during heatwaves in June 2026. In mid-July, Green MP Hannah Spencer announced she would introduce a bill in parliament to establish a maximum workplace temperature — a measure the UK currently lacks (The Guardian).

The broader context here connects to the UK's evolving approach to bus service governance. Andy Burnham, now serving as prime minister, previously brought Manchester's buses under local public control as franchises when he was mayor — a model that places operational standards, including workplace conditions, directly within the remit of transport authorities rather than private operators. The West Midlands, where National Express operates, has not yet followed the same franchising path, and the current crisis will likely intensify scrutiny of whether private operators can or will invest in the infrastructure retrofits necessary to protect drivers and passengers during extreme heat.

The Met Office's "new normal" framing carries significant weight for the transport sector. If successive heatwaves above 37°C become a recurring pattern rather than an anomaly, the absence of a statutory maximum workplace temperature becomes increasingly difficult to justify — particularly for enclosed, glass-heavy environments like bus cabs. Spencer's bill, if it progresses, would address a gap that has existed for decades in UK employment law, where minimum temperature protections are codified but no equivalent ceiling exists for heat.

For the drivers themselves, the immediate question is whether the additional break policy is being communicated and implemented consistently, or whether it remains a paper measure. The gap between National Express's formal response and the reported experience on the ground — drivers unaware of the entitlement, passengers losing consciousness — suggests that policy and practice are diverging under operational pressure. Unite's framing of "profits before people" is contested rhetoric, but it points to a structural tension: retrofitting fleets with effective air conditioning and modifying cab glazing represent capital expenditures that private operators may resist without regulatory compulsion.

The convergence of three forces — intensifying climate extremes, a national political appetite for stronger workplace protections, and the precedent of public franchising in Manchester — places the West Midlands bus network at a pivot point. Whether that pivot produces legislative change, franchise reform, or only incremental operator concessions may depend on how Spencer's bill is received when parliament returns and whether the next heatwave arrives before the current policy gaps are addressed.