Deputy mayor Krista Adams told the council chamber on Tuesday that the heat sensor in the driver's dashboard was giving inaccurate readings about the overall bus temperature. It meant drivers using the temperature gauge in their dashboard were being misled about how hot it was inside their cabin, Cr Adams said, leading to their stopping work and requesting a new bus when the internal temperature was actually not above 35 degrees. Holland Park ward councillor and deputy mayor Krista Adams told the council chamber that the heat sensor in the driver's dashboard was giving inaccurate readings. Credit:Tammy Law "So this is one of the key reasons why the wrong temperature gauge is being removed, because there are incidents where drivers are reporting the bus to be 35 degrees or more and that is not actually the case," she said. However, Rail Tram and Bus Union general secretary Tom Brown said the sensor gave drivers an accurate reading of how hot it was within their own workspace, particularly given drivers are surrounded by safety glass and heat-emitting electrics.

Mr Brown said the test showed the bus was "cooling nicely, however the driver was sitting in a sauna". "We would like to see them back-pedal on it and leave those sensors," he said. The right-hand temperature gauge shows the internal bus temperature compared to the outside temperature at the left. "Those sensors were put there by the manufacturers and they should be left there; they do give an accurate reading of the driver's cabin." Mr Brown said a test conducted by the union in a parked bus at a depot on Wednesday showed the temperature gauge reported 44 degrees in the cabin when the temperature was 37 degrees elsewhere inside the bus.

A separate temperature gauge used by the union showed the temperature inside the cabin was 37 degrees and climbing, while the rest of the bus was a comfortable 27 degrees. The RTBU expects to challenge the council's decision at a meeting on Thursday, calling for evidence that the dashboard gauge is inaccurate. The council is working to gather data on how many bus trips have been interrupted because of the temperature gauge readings, but more than 500 complaints have been made over the past six months on air conditioning. However, Cr Adams told Brisbane Times those complaints could be about any issue, from passenger comfort to drivers overheating. She said she did not believe many bus routes had been interrupted due to the issue, but the council wanted to make sure drivers had accurate information for their working conditions.

Cr Adams told the chamber it was the right of every bus driver if the temperature went above acceptable limits to stop and request a new bus be delivered to them, with passengers then transferred over. "However, you have to realise when this happens there are services missed and delayed, and passengers are put out until the new bus arrives," she said. Cr Adams said the bus fleet's air-conditioning system was set at 22 degrees, but could only keep temperatures at 10 degrees below the outside temperature. This meant if the outside temperature was 35 degrees, it would be about 25 degrees within the bus, she said. Opposition leader Jared Cassidy said bus driver comfort was "not an issue that's going away".