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File on 4: Occupational Hazard: The bus drivers who died from Covid

Occupational Hazard: The bus drivers who died from Covid

BBC Radio 4 - File on 4, Occupational Hazard: The bus drivers who died from Covid

Bus driver deaths during the Covid pandemic.

Were bus drivers given enough protection during the Covid pandemic? Death rates suggest driving a bus has been one of the most dangerous occupations in the UK.

During the pandemic, it’s been one of the most dangerous occupations in the land, with a death rate similar to that of frontline nurses. Sixty London bus drivers have died of Covid-19, and yet the authorities still have little explanation as to why the disease spread among them in such deadly fashion.
 
Families of the deceased say it was due to poor safety standards and the slow introduction of protective measures. Transport for London say they were just following government guidance. But with bus drivers becoming more vociferous and the death rate too high to ignore, BBC File on 4 tries to uncover the truth behind the shocking statistics. 
 
The programme hears from bus drivers across the capital who describe what was really happening on the ground, as well as the families of the deceased, and a TfL insider who alleges systemic problems with health and safety and says a Royal Commission is now needed to get to the bottom of what happened.

Reporter: Paul Kenyon
Producer: Annabel Deas
Editor: Carl Johnston

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Occupational Hazard: The bus drivers who died from Covid

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