Ticket inspectors suspended

Five ticket inspectors have been suspended after refusing to work on bendy buses unless they are part of large teams backed by police.

The £30,000-a-year inspectors told bosses they feared being assaulted if they were forced to work in pairs on the controversial new buses.

Now their union, the RMT, is threatening strike action unless they are reinstated.

The vehicles have been dubbed "happy buses" for the ease with which fare dodgers can get away without paying. The driver-only vehicles have three entrances meaning hundreds of passengers regularly travel free every day.

A special investigation by the Evening Standard revealed the extent of fare dodging. A reporter spent 10 hours on the 73 route between Essex Road and Angel, Islington. In 67 journeys he was not once asked to show his ticket.

Previously the suspended workers had been members of larger teams of inspectors and police involved in clampdowns on ticket cheats.

RMT leaders say when Transport for London ordered inspectors to

work in pairs it resulted in an increase in "serious" assaults when handing out the penalty fares.

Bobby Law, London regional organiser of the RMT, said: "The five were suspended for refusing to work in pairs because it was just too dangerous. One of those suspended, a female, was punched so hard she thought she was going to die. It was several minutes before she could get her breath back. The attackers were two blokes and they were also taunting her."

TfL, however, denies the union claim saying a thorough investigation - including analysis of closed circuit television - cannot find evidence of a serious assault. The five - all working in the south-east - have each attended a disciplinary hearing.

The result is expected this week. The RMT is demanding they be allowed back to work; be given a full apology; are not required to work in pairs and that a full safety assessment be conducted on bendy buses regarding ticket inspections.

The union threatens a ballot calling for strike action if these conditions are not met. Mr Law said because the row involved serious safety matters all 400 RMT staff working for TfL would be included in the ballot. Mr Law said: "The five, three men and two women, have been suspended for 43 days. Three of them had just come back off sick leave following assaults to be told they were suspended.

"It is ludicrous they have been suspended on full pay for so long when they could be out there working."

Mr Law said he had carried out an inspection on bendy buses using the Euston Road. "The bendy buses are crowded but other buses are empty. That's because passengers know they don't have to pay when using them. Tourists genuinely believe they don't have to pay."

Figures obtained by the London Assembly's Liberal Democrats show fare dodgers have clocked up more than 150 million miles using all forms of London's public transport since Ken Livingstone became Mayor.

TfL says its surveys show that fare evasion on all routes is only 2.2 per cent with the rate even lower on bendy-buses at 2.1 per cent.

A TfL spokesman said: "They [the inspectors] have been suspended for refusing to follow reasonable management instructions.

"There have been no serious assaults in the south-east area since September. We currently have 201 revenue protection inspectors working normally in all areas of the capital, including in pairs."