Regulator examines bus fires


A DVSA driver and vehicle standards agency study “to better understand the root causes of bus fires” is due to conclude this month. The RMT transport union has highlighted recent incidents and general secretary Mick Lynch described a “very significant risk that the current fleet poses to the travelling public, our members or other road users”. 


Last year the union reported that there had been more than 200 bus and coach fire incidents since 2015 in Scotland alone, in addition to a spate of fires on buses across the South West. And earlier this year, RMT parliamentary group chair Ian Mearns MP raised its concerns with the bus minister.


A Labour-sponsored early day motion, tabled in June 2022, highlighted research by Imperial College London professor Guillermo Rein showing buses may be riskier than cars, trains, ships or aircraft, mainly due to less-stringent fire safety requirements. The RMT is calling for measures 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.