(From left) CEO of Fusion Processing Jim Hutchinson, Minister for Transport Kevin Stewart, Stagecoach Regional Director Sam Greer and Managing Director of Alexander Dennis Paul Davies with one of the new autonomous buses on show at the Traffic Scotland National Control Centre in South Queensferry, May 11, 2023
BUS workers will take decisive action to head off the threats to jobs and working conditions from automation, the RMT AGM heard yesterday.
Delegates to the annual conference in Bournemouth spoke of the need to educate members on the dangers that automation poses to workers’ livelihoods.
Stagecoach has already launched an autonomous bus project in Edinburgh, though two staff members are required on board in case of any technical problems at the moment.
Moving the unanimously backed motion calling for a vigorous campaign on the issue, South Devon bus delegate Julie Tobin said: “Travelling by bus is currently the safest mode of road transport.
“That is because as professional bus drivers we are the best, most tested drivers in the country and around the world.
“While robots can use radar and GPS, it cannot legislate for other drivers on the road.
“So while employers claim it is safer, unless every vehicle is automated, that will not necessarily be the case.
“All they care about is cost savings and efficiencies for the company.
“They have put millions into these projects to erode our jobs and our working conditions.”
Ms Tobin said that although the autonomous bus project was in a trial phase, eventually employers were looking to remove human bus workers from the industry altogether.
She said: “By 2030, they are looking at driverless technology where there won’t be a need for any staff on board.
“In the trial phase, we have a safety driver monitoring the controls in case anything goes wrong. And a bus captain, which will be used not only to jump into the cab when something goes wrong but also selling tickets and getting into arguments with passengers who don’t have tickets.
“We’re effectively doing two jobs for the price of one.
“We need a concerted and concentrated campaign on where this is all going and how we are going to safeguard our terms and conditions.”
RMT senior assistant general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “We have a crucial role in making sure when automation comes into the transport sector that it isn’t just a vehicle that benefits private companies extracting more and more profits.”
