More than 100 Transport for London workers including 75 bus drivers have died from Covid since the start of the pandemic, new figures reveal
- 105 TfL staff have died from Covid including 23 Underground or rail workers
- Majority were people from ethnic minorities – including 33 black and 27 Asian
- Almost all of the deaths were men – a total of 100 – compared to just five women
More than 100 Transport for London employees have died from a Covid-related illness since the pandemic began, official figures revealed today.
The total of 105 includes 75 bus and 23 Underground or rail workers, plus two head office staff and five in partner organisers such as cleaning or security contractors.
Data showed the majority of deaths were people from ethnic minorities – including 33 black and 27 Asian, while another 28 were white and one had dual heritage.
Figures released by London Mayor Sadiq Khan also found that almost all of the deaths were of men – a total of 100 – compared to just five women.
He said in a Question Time response that TfL ‘put in place a range of additional support for families and colleagues where there has been a bereavement’.
Emeka Nyack Ihenacho, 36, is one of the London bus drivers who lost their lives to coronavirus. He died in April 2020 and had worked in Holloway. He is pictured with his son Makiah, seven
London bus drivers Kenneth Yeboah (left) and Mervyn Kennedy (right) both died from Covid-19 in April 2020. Mr Kennedy was 67, while Mr Yeboah died on what was his 55th birthday
Nadir Nur (left), 48, who drove the 394 from a depot in Hackney, died from Covid in April 2020. Ranjith Chandrapala (right), 64, died from Covid in May 2020 having driven the 92 in Ealing
The details were released in reply to a question by Keith Prince, a Greater London Authority Assembly member for the Conservatives in Havering and Redbridge.
The data – released on May 23 but only revealed today in a BBC News report – came as Mr Khan said ‘every death in service is taken very seriously by TfL’.
The 105 TfL workers who died from Covid-related illnesses
SEX
- Male – 100
- Female – 5
ETHNICITY
- Asian/British Asian – 27
- White/White Other – 28
- Black/Black African/Black Caribbean/Black British – 33
- Dual Heritage – 1
- Not available – 16
BUSINESS AREA
- Tube and rail – 23
- Head office – 2
- Buses (including Dial a Ride) – 75
- Partner organisations – 5
But the Mayor said TfL could not ‘provide a line by line account of each death in service due to data protection and out of respect for the family of the deceased’.
The answer also revealed there were no details on the ethnicity of 16 deaths, and the figures were correct as of May 10.
Mr Khan also said: ‘The dates of death and the dates when these were reported vary often with TfL not having visibility over individual death certificates.’
Various methods were introduced by TfL at the start of the pandemic in 2020 to protect staff, such as protective screens being installed around bus drivers.
While these screens are still in place today as is an upgraded cleaning regime across the network, a requirement for passengers to not use the front doors on buses was later abandoned.
In March, an independent review by University College London concluded that an earlier lockdown would have saved the lives of London bus drivers.
The study found that some of the deaths of workers with Covid-19 in March 2020 ‘would not have happened’ if movement restrictions and measures to stop the spread of the virus were imposed sooner.
The research, which was commissioned by TfL, focused on 27 London bus drivers who had been working in February 2020 and died from coronavirus between March and May that year.
UCL’s report found London bus drivers were three times more likely to die from Covid-19 than the UK average and that safety measures were introduced too late.
A London bus driver wears a face mask and gloves at the start of the pandemic in April 2020
TfL initially asked passengers to not use the front doors on buses, a rule that was later dropped
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