Sadiq Khan confirmed earlier this week 14 bus drivers working for Transport for London (TfL) have died because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Mayor of London faced criticism after he cut bus and tube services on the London transport network, resulting in people having to cram close to each other on transport. LBC presenter Eddie Mair confronted Mr Khan questioning whether he now thinks safety measures should have been adopted earlier to safeguard drivers from getting infected with COVID-19.

The radio host said: “If your father was still a bus driver, would you be happy for him to be driving a bus in London today?

“Do you think he’d be safe and protected?

“Do you wish you’d taken some of this action previously?”

Mr Khan insisted he is not “happy” for anyone to be exposed to the virus but insisted protective measures could not be taken earlier due to the high costs of issuing personal protective equipment (PPE) to all TfL staff as well as the risk of limiting access to PPE to NHS staff.

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Mr Khan said: “I’m not happy for anybody to be out and about unless they really have to.

“One of the reasons I’m exploring the issue of the supply chain for sufficient personal protective equipment is because I understand the fear the people have.

“If we were to give masks and gloves to everyone on public transport, that’s about £3 million a month in masks and gloves.

“We’ve been taking measures for a number of weeks now. Weeks ago we took the measure of using hospital disinfectant in our transport system.”

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The Mayor of London said buses are now being disinfected regularly, with a particular focus on areas commonly touched by large numbers of people.

He continued: “It breaks my heart that we’ve had too many transport workers who have lost their lives and we will do whatever we can to keep them safe.

“Even though we’ve not been advised to do so, we’ve made sure there is anti-viral disinfectant, deep cleaning of every touching point – think of steering wheels, doors, handles, restrooms, garages.

“We’ve also made sure there are shield glasses between the passengers and the driver but in addition, a protective layer of film.”

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Mr Khan added: “We’re making sure we’re piloting what has been suggested by drivers and unions to only have passengers use the middle doors.

“I’m looking into the possibility, even though I’m advised against it by both Public Health England and the World Health Organisation, of procuring PPE bearing in mind the supply chain.”

The coronavirus death toll jumped to 2,120 as of Friday, prompting officials and Transport for London to issue a plea to Londoners to remain home during Easter weekend despite the nice weather forecast.

A TfL spokesperson said: “This Easter, stay home. Save lives. We are working hard to support the NHS and protect all Londoners.

“Please help and do not travel for as long as it takes to defeat coronavirus⁠.”

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