A memorial to more than 100 London transport workers who died with covid was unveiled by Mayor Sadiq Khan on Wednesday.
At least 102 people who were working for Transport for London, the capital’s bus companies that operate TfL routes or as black taxi or minicab drivers, lost their lives between March 2020 and October 2021.
London bus drivers were three times more likely to die from covid than the wider UK population, according to an independent study published by City Hall in 2021. There were concerns that not enough was done to protect bus drivers from contracting the virus.
The memorial plaque, on a pedestrian square in Braham Street, Aldgate, has been installed alongside benches and plants, including a Foxglove tree, to create a space for “quiet reflection and remembrance”.
The transport workers’ memorial had initially been due to open last summer but fell behind schedule.
It is in addition to a memorial garden opened in the Olympic park in 2021 in tribute to the Londoners who died in the pandemic. At least 19,102 died with covid in hospital and unknown thousands at home or in care homes.
Mr Khan, paying tribute to the transport workers who kept the capital moving during the lockdowns, when the virus was claiming hundreds of lives a week, said: “When the entire nation was gripped by fear, they did not waver.
“They were there for us and we are duty bound to remember that we only prevailed because they persevered. This memorial will stand here for all time as an expression of the debt we owe for the sacrifice they made.”
TfL commissioner Andy Lord said: “This memorial pays tribute to our colleagues who helped the capital when it was needed the most, but we sadly lost to coronavirus. Their tragic loss is devastating for us all and we owe them our gratitude and must never forget them.
“They played a critical part in keeping London moving throughout the pandemic. While they paid the ultimate sacrifice, I have no doubt that they also helped save many lives by ensuring other key workers, such as doctors and nurses, got to work so they could in turn help to save others.”
A number of floral tributes were laid at the memorial, including from bus companies and from Andy Byford, the former TfL commissioner who led the organisation during the pandemic before quitting last year to return to the US.
Mr Byford wrote: “In proud and loving memory of our transport colleagues who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep London moving.”
