Six routes are classed as TfL’s highest priority, while a toilet at one end is considered sufficient on routes with round trips of less than 150 minutes
TfL is to build 53 new toilets for London bus drivers over the next three years as part of a new programme to improve welfare facilities across the capital.
Six routes are now classed in TfL’s highest-priority category for toilet provision, where there is no suitable access at either end.
They are the 353, 386, 464, N55, N136 and N551.
The N551 has recently been added to the list after TfL said it had previously understood drivers on the route had access to a toilet, but that information had since changed.
All six routes have been included in TfL’s capital programme, with feasibility and design work under way.
A further £6 million is set to be invested in bus driver welfare facilities during the current financial year.
The transport authority said £24.5 million had been spent on facilities including toilets and mess rooms since Sadiq Khan became Mayor, while 154 locations had either been refurbished or received a new toilet over the past eight years.
The latest figure is one higher than that previously published by City Hall.
In June, City Hall said there were five routes in TfL’s Priority 1 category, alongside 15 Priority 2 routes where toilets were not available throughout all operating hours and 43 Priority 3 routes where journeys exceeded 150 minutes but there was a toilet at only one end.
A further 10 routes have toilets at their termini which may not be accessible throughout all the hours they operate.
But the six Priority 1 routes do not represent every London bus route without dedicated toilet facilities at both ends.
Under criteria agreed with bus operators and Unite, a toilet at one end is considered sufficient where a route has a round trip of less than 150 minutes.
Routes with round trips of more than 150 minutes are prioritised for facilities at both ends.
City Hall said in 2022 that 176 routes, around a quarter of the network at the time, had a toilet at only one end.
When the issue was raised again last year, City Hall said the majority of those routes had round trips of less than 150 minutes and therefore did not meet the criteria for further priority investment.
Toilet provision does not necessarily mean a dedicated facility built for bus drivers.
TfL also counts arrangements for drivers to use facilities at Underground and rail stations, as well as toilets in places such as cafes, restaurants, petrol stations and offices.
Image: iStock
Its Bus Driver Facilities Guide shows that access can also depend on arrangements with other organisations.
On the D7, the guide lists a shared toilet at Mile End Underground station as available around the clock, but records reports from the operator that drivers have been refused access by gateline staff.
At the other end of the route at Poplar, All Saints, the guide records no toilet facility at the stand.
The issue has come under increased scrutiny following an ITV News London investigation into working conditions for bus drivers.
Drivers told ITV earlier this year that a lack of suitable facilities had led some to use bottles or jars, while others described deliberately limiting how much they drank while working.
In July, TfL Director of Buses Lorna Murphy told ITV News London there were five routes without access to a dedicated toilet, although she said alternative facilities such as shops and restaurants were available.
The figure has since risen to six following the addition of the N551.
Bus safety campaigner Tom Kearney questioned the veracity of the Mayor’s and TfL’s statements. He said:
“After over a decade of the Mayor claiming ‘Drivers on all bus routes in London have access to a toilet‘, after pressure from the Bill of Rights Campaign, the media and members of the London Assembly, we’re supposed to be impressed by his recent promise for TfL to provide 53 new toilets to Bus Drivers over the next three years?
“TfL’s revised statement that there are 6 bus routes where bus drivers have no access to toilet facilities is directly contradicted by the June ‘Blue Book’ Data TfL published on 30 June in response to FOI-0710-2627 which clearly showed 9 Bus Routes where there is no suitable toilet access:
Route 272 (First Bus London)
Route 353 (Go Ahead London)
Route 386 (Go Ahead London)
Route 464 (Transport UK)
Route N8 (Stagecoach)
Route N55 (Stagecoach)
Route N109 (Transport UK)
Route N136 (Go Ahead London)
Route N551 (Stagecoach)
“Furthermore, analysis of the same 2026 Blue Book Data also reveals:
Only 38% of London Bus Routes have dedicated 24-7 Bus Drivers Toilets at both ends.
25% (175) of London’s Bus Routes still lack a toilet at one end for Bus Drivers.
Only 69% of all Bus Drivers Toilets on All Routes have 24-7 Access and 31% have restricted Hours and Days of Operation.
14% of all Bus Driver Toilets are Shared Toilets, all of which have restricted hours and days of operation.
9% of all Bus Driver Toilets are Temporary Toilets.
TfL introduced Superloop Route 5 (SL5 – Arriva London) on 3 February 2024 and Superloop Route 6 (SL6 – Arriva London) on 31 July 2023 with no bus driver toilets at 1 end for Bus Drivers.
“And lastly, from another FOI Request, FOI-1806-2627, we know that the W12, W13, and W14 Bus Route Specifications were recently written, tendered and won by Stagecoach when it was known to TfL and the all route tender participants that no toilet facilities were available for Bus Drivers on those routes.
“When a public transport authority designs a bus route it knows will provide unsafe working conditions for Bus Drivers, and then tenders those routes and awards them to the lowest bidder, I think it’s obvious that both TfL and any bidding Bus Operator are being wittingly negligent about safety for Bus Drivers and the public.
“What I fail to understand is why any British Bus Operator would contractually commit to forcing its employees to work in conditions that both TfL and the Operator must recognise are both inhumane and unsafe. Notwithstanding their apparent ignorance of prevailing Health and Safety Laws, do TfL or its contracted Bus Operators understand the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility?
“Just like dangerously hot buses, it would appear that neither TfL nor Bus Operators assume any responsibility for guaranteeing safe Working Conditions for London’s Bus Drivers or Safety for the people ride on or who share the roads with TfL’s franchised Bus Fleet.
“Perhaps this ‘Institutionally Unsafe’ System explains why collisions per bus and per million bus miles are now higher today than when this ‘Vision Zero’ Mayor first took office?”
Image: London Bus Forums
Bus drivers also staged a rally outside TfL’s headquarters in August calling for a Bus Drivers’ Bill of Rights, which includes serviced toilet facilities, proper rest breaks and functioning heating and air conditioning.
The demonstration was organised independently by bus drivers rather than by a trade union.
Carl Eddleston, TfL’s Director of Streets and Network Operations, said: “Drivers rightly expect to have the facilities they need to carry out their roles safely and comfortably.”
He said TfL would continue working with operators, drivers and trade unions to improve working conditions across the bus network.
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