23/06/2026
With the hot weather this week, we just know what’s coming…
“Why isn’t the air con working?”
“It’s like a sauna on wheels!”
So before the messages start rolling in, here’s a quick (and honest) explanation…
First things first, we’ve got 86 buses, and 24 of them come with air conditioning. The rest? Let’s just say they rely on the good old open window and hope for the best system.
All our buses are well maintained, but air con is a bit like that one friend who’s great most of the time… until things get a bit intense. Even though our air-conditioned buses are the newer ones and still under warranty, that doesn’t make them immune, they can (and sometimes do) decide to have a little moment of their own.
Now for a bit of perspective…
A bus carries a lot of air that needs cooling. Then we add people.
Lots of people.
On a busy journey, that’s dozens of passengers, all at a comfortable human operating temperature of 37°C, chatting, breathing, and generally generating heat like a mobile radiator convention. Add in big windows turning the bus into something resembling a travelling greenhouse, and suddenly those air con units are working overtime.
Even the buses with air con are basically in a battle against physics this week… and physics is undefeated.
We’ve also heard the classic suggestion: “Why don’t you just drive with the doors open like the old days?”
As tempting as that sounds, it turns out people falling out of moving buses is frowned upon these days… and apparently “health & safety” have some very strong opinions about it.
And spare a thought for our drivers, sat all day behind a windscreen the size of a garden shed window, gently cooking while still cheerfully (well most of the time) saying “morning” at every stop.
And just to clear things up, no, adding more buses won’t cool things down… they don’t work like extra fans (although we wish they did).
And unlike the schools, we haven’t closed, we’ll keep going and get you where you need to be… most likely the beach or the pub you lucky people 🙂
So yes… it’s warm.
Yes… we’re all a bit glowy.
And yes… we’re in this together.
Stay hydrated, be kind, and if you see one of our drivers looking like they’ve just completed a sauna session, a smile (or a cold drink!) will go a long way.
We’ll get through it… and by the weekend we will all be moaning and saying what happened to the summer!
