TfL spends millions on 'conflict courses' for London bus drivers

London bus drivers are being given special training to deal with angry passengers
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Mark Blunden @_MarkBlunden16 November 2016

Millions of pounds is being spent on sending the capital’s bus drivers on role-playing courses to help them deal with angry passengers.

All 25,000 drivers, as well as 1,700 support staff, are being sent on the £240 two-day seminars, costing Transport for London a total of £6.5 million.

The courses are run by Southwark-based Steps, whose clients include Disney, Coutts bank and the Metropolitan Police. Workshops “explore the emotional and behavioural” responses of drivers to trouble “in a safe learning environment”. Actors play difficult passengers and drivers advise how to deal with them and reveal their “emotional and behavioural response”.

Sarah-Jane Georges, lead facilitator at Steps, said sessions included “handling conflict”, making announcements and “acknowledging people”.

“The power of drama brings their working world to life,” she said. “[Drivers] think about what behaviours drive them mad and what they appreciate.”

Gareth Powell, TfL’s director of strategy, said: “This is designed to help our drivers deliver even better service.”

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