Bus drivers get the hump

Sep 27 2004 by Brian Amble Print This Article

Bus drivers in Reading have threatened to go on strike in protest at having to drive over more than 1,000 speed humps every day.

According to the Daily Mirror, the town council promised the humps would be reduced in size but have failed to deliver any improvements.

The Transport & General Workers Union says nine of the original 10 drivers on the route have have quit.

Branch chairman Danny Downs told the newspaper: "It's like someone behind you kicking your chair more than 1,000 times a day. There's a hump every 150 to 200 metres, and they are lethal.

"They are much higher than most sleeping policemen – they're mini-Everests."

The drivers have given the council until Friday to agree to cut the route in half – halving the number of humps - or they will stage a 24-hour strike on 5 November.