Bexley and Bromley’s London Assembly Member; Thomas Turell AM, is calling for an urgent safety review of the 358 Bus service following a potentially dangerous incident outside Shortlands railway station in the London Borough of Bromley.
The incident, which occurred yesterday afternoon (15 May), saw one of the new ieTram buses suffer a complete power failure at a busy junction, forcing passengers to disembark onto a busy road with inadequate safety provisions.
"I witnessed a deeply concerning situation where passengers were placed at unnecessary risk due to the complete failure of an ieTram bus," said Thomas. "Most alarmingly, the power loss meant the driver could not activate hazard warning lights, leaving approaching motorists unaware of the stranded vehicle."
Thomas noted that traffic management fell initially to a concerned member of the public, followed by the bus driver himself, neither of whom had proper equipment beyond a basic high-visibility vest.
"It was purely fortunate that this breakdown occurred during daylight hours. Had this happened after dark, the consequences could have been far more serious," he added.
In a formal communication to Seb Dance, Thomas highlighted that the driver reported the bus power level displayed 60% upon leaving the nearby bus stop before rapidly dropping to zero, raising serious questions about the reliability of the monitoring systems onboard the vehicles.
Thomas has requested Transport for London to:
- Conduct an immediate review of safety protocols for the 358 Bus service
- Investigate the reliability of the ieTram fleet's power systems
- Ensure appropriate emergency equipment is available to drivers
This is reportedly not an isolated incident, with Thomas, a frequent user of the 358 himself, aware of several other cases where the new ieTram buses have experienced similar power failures.
In a comment, Thomas said:
"People will get hurt if this is not addressed - Seb Dance and TfL need to take action before that happens, and commit to a review of the safety of these trams quickly. The introduction of this new bus onto our roads has been a calamity. I remember the excitement about this new design when it was announced in 2021, since then it has been nothing short of a shambles. How can Londoners have confidence in the electrification of the fleet when this is the result."
