0:00:02 > 0:00:06TRAFFIC REPORT: The A13 westbound is moving slowly between...
0:00:07 > 0:00:09Hold on tight.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11London is full of them.
0:00:11 > 0:00:12HORNS HONK
0:00:12 > 0:00:16Are you going to allow them to jump on the back of your bus?
0:00:16 > 0:00:19I'm afraid I won't be able to take more passengers.
0:00:19 > 0:00:25Thanks to a million more people arriving in the last ten years,
0:00:25 > 0:00:29Transport For London now has more than 30,000 workers
0:00:29 > 0:00:31battling day and night...
0:00:31 > 0:00:33HE WHISTLES Wake up!
0:00:33 > 0:00:36..to stop the city grinding to a halt.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39- Three people been shot up there. - War. It's war.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42All right, I'll get the police and ambulance straight down there.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46In the first week I was here I thought, "What have I done?"
0:00:46 > 0:00:48With unique access to the nerve centre
0:00:48 > 0:00:50of the capital's transport system,
0:00:50 > 0:00:53this is the inside story of the people who keep London moving.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55You're not only a bus driver,
0:00:55 > 0:00:57you become a psychotherapist and psychiatrist.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59You get the people that like to talk to you.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Some of them even flirt with you.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03I said, "At them moment, mate. Sit down quietly.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06"We're not going to hell, we're going to Ilford."
0:01:06 > 0:01:10It's the lifeblood of London. Well, the buses are red, aren't they?
0:01:11 > 0:01:14There's my certificate. Look, I'm a bus driver.
0:01:14 > 0:01:15SHE LAUGHS
0:01:16 > 0:01:18Thank you very much. You are so nice.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20Don't worry. No problem at all.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24London's changed a lot but, yeah, I love it. It's London.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42It's 9pm, the start of the night shift at Brixton bus garage.
0:01:43 > 0:01:44PHONE RINGING
0:01:44 > 0:01:46It's his first cover, isn't it?
0:01:46 > 0:01:48Welcome to the night party!
0:01:51 > 0:01:53I'm an ex-Formula One driver so three o'clock.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58You'll see me as a red blur.
0:02:03 > 0:02:08Dwayne Williams will be driving one of London's 1,000 night buses.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10His shift runs till dawn.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12He should take the hat off.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15It's embarrassing the Reebok guys, the proper ones.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20Is that better, Andrew? My hat is off now, Andrew.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27Today I'm doing 159, N159, 244 duty.
0:02:28 > 0:02:35Which starts at 9.30 until 5.37 in the morning. I can't wait.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40Dwayne's route will take him five miles,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43from Brixton into the heart of the West End.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55It's from anything about ten to 12 o'clock,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58that's when people start going out.
0:02:58 > 0:02:59You get the funny people.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02You get the people that like to talk to you.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04You get the people that want to crack jokes.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06- Aaaarrgh!- That's not fair.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08'People just going out for a quiet drink with their friends.'
0:03:08 > 0:03:12They're excited. They talk to you. Some of them even flirt with you.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Jesus Christ love you.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Send your friend, send your friend.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20Jesus said, come to me and you'll see I'll give you eternal life.
0:03:20 > 0:03:21Jesus is coming.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28You want the right ones to come in and the wrong ones do.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31So the ones that should come over don't
0:03:31 > 0:03:34and the ones that don't should.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36- INTERVIEWER:- Do you have a girlfriend at the moment?
0:03:36 > 0:03:38No, no, no. Single, ready to mingle.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50It's gone ten o'clock and the city's heaving.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52Over the course of a single night,
0:03:52 > 0:03:56buses will carry over 100,000 passengers.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00But drivers aren't alone in dealing with the hordes.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Watching over them is London Transport's control hub,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06known as CentreComm.
0:04:06 > 0:04:095-23-4-5, receiving CentreComm. Over.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13OK and what caused the lady to fall over, please? Over.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Yeah, wait where you are. Do not continue driving.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18Stop where you are I'll get an ambulance out to you. Over.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24In the past, I would say, an hour, we've had
0:04:24 > 0:04:27one, two, three, four, five, we've had six accidents.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31We're averaging an accident at the moment every ten minutes.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34We've got somebody that's been knocked off their motorcycle
0:04:34 > 0:04:35by a car, blocking the road here.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39This one, we've got a car that's knocked another motorcycle over.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42This one we've got somebody who's got a rather nice Porsche 4x4
0:04:42 > 0:04:44who's driven it into a lamp post.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50Any incident on the roads is radioed from bus drivers
0:04:50 > 0:04:51to CentreComm controllers.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57It's their job to divert the buses and keep the system moving.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00So did they hit you at all? Over.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04Yeah, understood. Tell him police are on the way. Over.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08The drivers are the eyes and ears. We're the brain, if you like.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10They tell us what's going on
0:05:10 > 0:05:12and then we act on the information we get.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16Be guided by the police officers on scene. Any buses stuck there
0:05:16 > 0:05:20for the moment, please advise your passengers they will be diverted.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29Dwayne is arriving into town and doing just fine on his own.
0:05:30 > 0:05:31Where you lot going?
0:05:31 > 0:05:33To town.
0:05:33 > 0:05:34Oh, yeah, yeah, going past there.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36THEY SPEAK AT ONCE
0:05:36 > 0:05:38You can jam with me.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46'As a bus driver they see nice guy like me sitting behind the wheel.'
0:05:46 > 0:05:50Instead of me looking for them, they get on my bus, so they look for me.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56They give you the eye, you give them back the eye. Then they smile
0:05:56 > 0:05:59and you go, "Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me," and then they come back
0:05:59 > 0:06:01and they go, "Oh, was that fine?"
0:06:01 > 0:06:03I go, "Yeah, it was fine but you're finer."
0:06:03 > 0:06:05You see? And then it just starts from there.
0:06:07 > 0:06:08I ain't got no more change on the bus.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11- Hiya.- Hello, we've just been to a lovely restaurant.
0:06:15 > 0:06:16- INTERVIEWER:- That was a good chance.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18I know but too loud.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23Thank you.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27- That was a bit short but he did a great job.- Bye.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29THEY SQUEAL
0:06:31 > 0:06:33It's starting to get lively now.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Driving the night bus is a job that's changed
0:06:39 > 0:06:41beyond recognition over the past ten years,
0:06:41 > 0:06:45as the bus service has grown to cope with an exploding population.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53PK's parents were part of
0:06:53 > 0:06:55the first wave of immigrants from the Caribbean.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Now their son is transporting
0:06:57 > 0:07:01migrants from all corners of the world across London.
0:07:09 > 0:07:10Yeah, sure, mate.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14- You got a pass mate? - Sorry?- Got a ticket? Got a ticket?
0:07:14 > 0:07:17He can see first-hand how this city is changing.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Well, when I was growing up,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26I mean, I used to go to Brixton Market all the time with my mum,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29back end of the '50s, Brixton Market is where you'd go to
0:07:29 > 0:07:32get all your sort of fruits and vegetables that she grew up with
0:07:32 > 0:07:34back in Guyana, South America.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38There's lots of people now that wouldn't have come to Brixton
0:07:38 > 0:07:40when I was younger who are now living in Brixton.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43A lot of people I knew that lived there have moved out,
0:07:43 > 0:07:45obviously cos the house prices were good. Some of them
0:07:45 > 0:07:48made out like bandits. It worked out well for them,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51I don't have a problem with it. Most people I know don't have a problem
0:07:51 > 0:07:55with it, apart from the odd person who sort of looks at people who've
0:07:55 > 0:07:57sort of grown up around here as if what are we doing here now,
0:07:57 > 0:07:59you know?
0:07:59 > 0:08:01But it makes for an interesting backdrop, I guess...
0:08:03 > 0:08:05..to life in South London.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15There used to be just eight night-time bus routes that followed
0:08:15 > 0:08:18the underground train lines, from the centre of town.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21- Where are you going?- Home.
0:08:21 > 0:08:22About time too.
0:08:24 > 0:08:25But London has grown
0:08:25 > 0:08:29more quickly than the trains or Tube could ever cope with.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Since 2000, the number of night passengers has tripled.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38Now, over 100 routes reach ever further into the expanding suburbs.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Ilford, 12 miles east of the city centre once had
0:08:44 > 0:08:47a trickle of late services. Now there's a deluge.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51Ten years ago there weren't many night buses.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54One used to come every one hour.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57We used to have to catch a cab home from a nightclub.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Now, like, one of the routes we have they run
0:09:00 > 0:09:03every six minutes at night-time on a Friday night.
0:09:03 > 0:09:04That's the N25.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08And every bus, even though every six minutes, they are packed.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11As-salamu alaikum.
0:09:13 > 0:09:14Good evening, gentlemen.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Tonight Sajjad Sharif is driving the N25
0:09:21 > 0:09:24between Ilford and Oxford Street.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28This route connects very different parts of town.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34Yes, we've passed Aldgate and Mile End Road.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37That's predominantly a Bangladeshi community.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39From here, it will be tourists, partygoers,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43and your City folk, suits.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49Yeah, we're here in the heart of the City now, next to NatWest Tower
0:09:49 > 0:09:51and all these big buildings going up.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54There's a lot of money here but no soul.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01They're more friendlier back there than they are over here.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Here seems to be everybody's in a rush.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Get on, get off. Doof, boof.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Excuse me. Hello!
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Hello. Excuse me, sir.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14You've got no money on your card.
0:10:14 > 0:10:15£2.30, please.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20See everybody's running around like headless chickens.
0:10:20 > 0:10:25You open the doors, they're like...um...Olympics, it is.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29They all think they're Usain Bolt. They've got to get there first.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44I was going to open up a supermarket in Romford, with my dad.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46He was a bit quiet, and I said, "What's wrong?"
0:10:46 > 0:10:48He goes, "If you go to the supermarket,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51"your wife will be there busy, you won't have time for us.
0:10:51 > 0:10:52"We're old age pensioners.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54"What are we going to look at, these four walls?
0:10:54 > 0:10:56"We're going to miss the grandchildren."
0:10:56 > 0:11:00What do you want me to do? "Do bus driving, that's OK."
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Which worked out better, cos everything I did,
0:11:03 > 0:11:07with his permission or with his blessing, I've been successful in,
0:11:07 > 0:11:12and anything I've done on me own, solo, has gone the other way around.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16So this way it gives me prayer time, playtime, work time.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24As drinkers start going home, CentreComm moves up a gear.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Route 60, you called a code red. Go ahead. Over.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34High Street, Ponders End, we've got a bus driven into a house.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37We start to get more calls, disturbances,
0:11:37 > 0:11:39disagreements with drivers.
0:11:40 > 0:11:47Anything from fare dispute up to alcohol-related disturbances.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50I'll get the police and ambulance straight down there.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52Call us back when you're clear. CentreComm out.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54'I prefer nights, rather than days.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57'It just suits me. I like doing them.'
0:11:57 > 0:12:01At night, I find the work a bit more interesting. It's more
0:12:01 > 0:12:04of a case of you get disturbances on the bus,
0:12:04 > 0:12:06you get fights, fare disputes.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09It's a bit more variety, a bit more... A bit more action.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11Once again, a 13-year-old white female,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14blonde hair in a ponytail, five foot nine tall,
0:12:14 > 0:12:16gone missing in the Croydon Road. If you know her whereabouts
0:12:16 > 0:12:19contact CentreComm and we'll get the police straight to you, thank you.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23That was a missing person request from the police. A 13-year-old girl
0:12:23 > 0:12:25has gone missing and left a note at home. Run away from home.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28So they've asked us to circulate it to all buses.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Ladies and gentlemen, Can I see your tickets and passes, please?
0:12:46 > 0:12:50The more people who travel at night, the more who decide not to pay.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55Good evening. Please have your tickets or Oyster Cards
0:12:55 > 0:12:59ready for inspection. Thank you very much. Good evening.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03Fare evasion on buses costs Londoners £40 million a year.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05Your pass hasn't been touched on the bus.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08You haven't validated your journey.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16Can you write down your name, address and date of birth for me, please?
0:13:16 > 0:13:17You know your name?
0:13:18 > 0:13:21It's up to inspectors to get details of all passengers
0:13:21 > 0:13:22without valid tickets.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25It's not always easy.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28What's your name there?
0:13:28 > 0:13:31- Asomwa.- How do you spell that?
0:13:31 > 0:13:34- Asomwa.- Yeah, how do you spell that?
0:13:34 > 0:13:37A...S.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39Yeah.
0:13:41 > 0:13:42A-S?
0:13:42 > 0:13:45A-S-O-mwa.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47No, I didn't catch that last bit there.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51No, what's the rest of your name?
0:13:51 > 0:13:54- A-S and then what's the rest of the letters?- Asomwa.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Yeah, that's what I'm asking you how to spell that. Is that A-S?
0:13:57 > 0:13:58A...
0:14:01 > 0:14:06- A.- Yeah.- S.- Yeah.- O.- O, yeah.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Are you getting me?
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Yeah, I've got A-S-O. I'm waiting for the rest of them now.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Fella. Fella.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21Fella? Can you look at me, please?
0:14:21 > 0:14:22Sir, while I'm talking to you.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30After 15 minutes, the man finally gets to the end of his name.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Right, this is your penalty fare here, sir.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34I just need you to look so you know what you've got.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36- This is the penalty fare here. - How much is my penalty?
0:14:36 > 0:14:39It's £40 if you pay it within 21 days, OK?
0:14:43 > 0:14:47Total there was four penalty fares on that bus
0:14:47 > 0:14:51and my colleague done three in the time it took me to do one.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02In East London, Tommy McKerr is starting his shift on route N25.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09It also has a reputation for fare dodgers.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12Generally the public are good people.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15'90% of them will pay their fare, they'll tap in,
0:15:15 > 0:15:19'and it's just the small minority that spoils it for everyone else.'
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Some will try anything to get a free ride.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24Well, the police station's round there, mate,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26if you need to go to the police station.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28- Actually, first I want to go back home.- Huh?
0:15:28 > 0:15:29First I want to go back.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31No, you need to go to the police station, mate.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39- I want to go home.- You need to go to the police station.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41He says that he's just been mugged down the road.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45He's been beaten up and they've taken all his money and everything
0:15:45 > 0:15:47but there's not a mark on him, so I said to him,
0:15:47 > 0:15:48"If you've been beaten up
0:15:48 > 0:15:51"the police station's just round the corner. Go to the police station."
0:15:51 > 0:15:53He goes, "No, I need to go home first."
0:15:53 > 0:15:56It's just one of the many stories that we hear all the time.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58"I've just been mugged."
0:15:58 > 0:16:01But they'll go and buy a pair of trainers that cost a £100 or
0:16:01 > 0:16:04whatever and don't want to spend £2.40 to get home.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07I know if I go out I'm always going to make sure I've got
0:16:07 > 0:16:09a means of getting home.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37In Camden Town, North London bars are still serving.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44Late night drinking, now legal for ten years,
0:16:44 > 0:16:47has changed the habits of a generation.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55But the Tube still closes before 1am.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01Shall I shut them gates? You going to shut the gates?
0:17:01 > 0:17:03We'll leave it at that.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05214 bus.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08And why? Why? Why?
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Cos you've missed it. The last southbound's gone.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14You were busy in the pub and the train was pulling off the platform.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16Buses for you.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Going to King's Cross, King's Cross.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21King's Cross is south. There's no more southbound.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Come on.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25A lot of them are really quite upset
0:17:25 > 0:17:27when they've missed the last southbound.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30They get a bit distraught. Some of them do cry, not many.
0:17:30 > 0:17:31Most of them just get angry,
0:17:31 > 0:17:35But you just sort of give them a bus route and they're quite
0:17:35 > 0:17:38happy with that. Well, fairly happy. It depends how drunk they are.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40Where you going to?
0:17:40 > 0:17:42Central London.
0:17:42 > 0:17:43You've missed it.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45Where do you want to go?
0:17:45 > 0:17:47214 bus opposite Sainsbury's, straight down there.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51Oh, my God, London is some kind of village. It's Friday night,
0:17:51 > 0:17:52Finished. Where do you want to go?
0:17:52 > 0:17:56- Straight down there opposite Sainsbury's.- Fucking bastard.- 253.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59- Sorry, not you, of course. - Have a nice night.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16You're bad luck now. Put it down. Put that shit down.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24We go from Camden to Trafalgar Square to get the N26 to
0:18:24 > 0:18:28Chingford, whereas that's two buses whereas it's more like Underground
0:18:28 > 0:18:32takes us 20 minutes, this takes us an hour and a half to get home.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36# 500, 25,000, 600 minutes. #
0:18:39 > 0:18:43Will you stop talking and hugging everyone, please?
0:18:43 > 0:18:44We need to get home here.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53It's a lot more fun than a taxi.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57You meet a lot of interesting people on a night bus.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59It's a weird sense, because the night...
0:18:59 > 0:19:02It seems like the night bus enjoys me being on it.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05I don't know. It's funny. I don't know how to describe it.
0:19:18 > 0:19:23It's now the pressure on CentreComm staff really starts to build up.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25Saturday night, Sunday mornings,
0:19:25 > 0:19:26this sort of time of the day
0:19:26 > 0:19:30you get lots of accidents. Lots of drunk people coming
0:19:30 > 0:19:34out of nightclubs and pubs. So it can be a pretty busy time.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37Got a male standing in front of the bus.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41He's standing in front of the bus refusing to move.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44He's just standing there and giving the driver grief.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Delaying the service, yeah.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51It's not just buses. They step in front of anything.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53They wander around in the road.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55They don't know where they are.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57It's the state of Britain today, I'm afraid.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Young gentleman standing in the middle of the road
0:20:10 > 0:20:13by Tottenham Court Road playing chicken with the traffic. Over.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Just called in a code blue to let CentreComm know
0:20:18 > 0:20:21so they can maybe get the police down
0:20:21 > 0:20:23to take him out of the road.
0:20:26 > 0:20:32In North London, a woman has been hit by a taxi on a major bus route.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35Looks like Seven Sisters Road at the moment is now closed town-bound.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37The ambulance has just this minute arrived,
0:20:37 > 0:20:41and you've got this person laying in the road at the moment.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43The thing all the time, when an incident happens, we've got
0:20:43 > 0:20:46to think on our feet and try and get rid of the vehicle
0:20:46 > 0:20:49away from there as soon as possible, because within, you know
0:20:49 > 0:20:53a very short length of time that part of Seven Sisters Road
0:20:53 > 0:20:56will be a sea of buses, so now that they're already discussing
0:20:56 > 0:20:59and putting out the diversions to clear the vehicles back.
0:20:59 > 0:21:00I've just searched him,
0:21:00 > 0:21:03he's on Holland Park Avenue going back, going eastbound again.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06Sometimes the bus drivers do become emotionally involved.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Quite understandable - they're the ones on the scene at the incident.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13So we have to remain calm, try to keep them calm
0:21:13 > 0:21:15so that we can get all the facts, details,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18pass on the relevant information to the ambulance, fire brigade,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21police so that it can be dealt with quickly, efficiently
0:21:21 > 0:21:23and to save lives.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28We've got a report there's a male passenger onboard,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32in his 30's, not breathing. Unconscious but not breathing.
0:21:32 > 0:21:37Oh, hold on, hold on. Lazarus. He's gone. Lazarus has risen.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41He's gone.
0:21:41 > 0:21:46All right, guv? Yeah. No, no. Miracles have happened.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48He has raised from the dead and he's gone.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58The later it gets, the more isolated drivers can feel.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02In Ilford, a group of young men is laying siege to Tommy's bus.
0:22:02 > 0:22:03KNOCKING ON WINDOW
0:22:03 > 0:22:05HE SHOUTS
0:22:07 > 0:22:09Who's banging on the fucking...?
0:22:09 > 0:22:12Look at the camera, yeah, look at the camera!
0:22:12 > 0:22:15Boom, boom, boom, boom.
0:22:15 > 0:22:16KNOCKING
0:22:16 > 0:22:17YOUTH HUMS TUNE
0:22:17 > 0:22:19THEY SHOUT
0:22:21 > 0:22:22Bus shots!
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Pow, pow, pow.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26921-N25 code red go ahead.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30KNOCKING ON GLASS
0:22:30 > 0:22:32Yeah. What's the problem there, sir? Over.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Sorry, go again for me. What's going on there?
0:22:49 > 0:22:52Police on the way. How many males are there? Over.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00All right. Police on the way. Give me a call when you're clear, please?
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Diver, what is going on? I need to pay.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14Tommy is on his own.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16But drivers are advised never to leave their cab.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24You all stormed upstairs. You've all got to pay.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26No, I touched already.
0:23:26 > 0:23:27Yeah, well, I know. You're all right.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I touched already. Everyone touched it, man, so what's your problem?
0:23:30 > 0:23:35- WOMAN:- Come on. Chuck him. - MAN:- Wasting time.- Chuck him.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39The driver's doing his job now. He's asked them to leave and because
0:23:39 > 0:23:44of his actions other passengers are starting to turn on him.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46You lot are just standing there, right,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48talking about these crazy black people.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51All black people are not that loud.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55No, basically everybody... Some of them are just coming from work,
0:23:55 > 0:23:59some of them want to go home to just relax and then back again,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03to work or whatever they're doing. Some people are just messing
0:24:03 > 0:24:07around on the bus, so this need to be sorted out as soon as possible.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13They want to get home. He's doing his job,
0:24:13 > 0:24:17and basically other passengers don't see it like that. They just
0:24:17 > 0:24:20see it as it's his fault that they're not going nowhere,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23not the passengers that haven't paid for their journey.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27All right, any weapons seen or used? Over.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31In the town centre, the ticket inspectors are still
0:24:31 > 0:24:33on the hunt for fare dodgers.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37It's three o'clock in the morning, everyone's coming out now.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39It's getting busy.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41127. Hello, driver.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Hello, have you got your tickets or passes ready, please?
0:24:46 > 0:24:49But something much more serious has just happened on their bus.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51Thank you.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Oh, hold up then. He's been bashed.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56Yeah, but what's going on up there?
0:24:56 > 0:24:58I don't know. The guy's bleeding, though. So...
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Just had a passenger come from the top deck.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05Looks like they're bleeding.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08A police officer's just come off the bus with him.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Ladies and gents, I do apologise at the moment,
0:25:14 > 0:25:17this bus is going to have to be held here. There's something
0:25:17 > 0:25:21happened on the top deck. Going to transfer you on to another bus.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27Georgie Veres was on his way home
0:25:27 > 0:25:31when he was attacked from behind by a stranger.
0:25:31 > 0:25:36He just broke my... Threw the fucking beer glass in my head.
0:25:39 > 0:25:40That guy, he's over there.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45I have no idea what happened.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48I'm fucking scared
0:25:48 > 0:25:52because I'm living here, like, two years and nothing happened like this.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02Back in Ilford, Tommy's bus is on the move again.
0:26:04 > 0:26:05He's going.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Yeah, 9-21 calling back. See you left the scene so presumably
0:26:18 > 0:26:21they're off your bus now? Over.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25OK, thanks very much indeed for calling back. Over.
0:26:25 > 0:26:26CentreComm out.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30With the problem passengers off the bus, police can be stood down.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36Hello. Cancellation 1447.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39But the incident has put Tommy behind schedule
0:26:39 > 0:26:42and his route controller wants to know why.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Cos it's been busy, mate,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53and I've just done another code red, but I'm clear now.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58A load of black guys stormed the bus without paying,
0:26:58 > 0:26:59but they've all got off now.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02- MAN:- Jeez. Black guys? It's fucking colour, that's all.
0:27:02 > 0:27:07So why is he saying, "A load of black guys?" Huh?
0:27:07 > 0:27:09And the guy goes, "Black guys."
0:27:09 > 0:27:12It's true cos the majority of them are black.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15So you can't say, "Oh, he was making it up."
0:27:15 > 0:27:18It was a majority of black people, and by doing this,
0:27:18 > 0:27:22giving black people a bad name. All black people are not like that.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25Nothing to do with blacks. My wife's black.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29Serious. And I get called racist and everything but little do they know.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34So I've got two beautiful kids.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37I'm half Asian myself. People don't
0:27:37 > 0:27:40know that when they see me, they just think straightaway, "Racist."
0:27:40 > 0:27:42I wanted to take a cab. My friend goes,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45"Oh, just jump on a night bus. Simple, straight, there's no
0:27:45 > 0:27:47"traffic in the road. You just jump on it. By the time you realise,
0:27:47 > 0:27:51"you're there." You jump on a night bus and you get a drama.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54I don't often get it and I regret getting it now.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59'In the two years I've been here,
0:27:59 > 0:28:03'I've been threatened with being stabbed, being shot,
0:28:03 > 0:28:05'being threatened to be beaten up.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08'I've been spat at on numerous occasions, you know.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10'Some driver had a stiletto shoe thrown
0:28:10 > 0:28:13'at his head and another driver had a brick thrown at his window.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17'It's just the perils of the job I'm afraid. Part and parcel.'
0:28:28 > 0:28:31WOMAN SHOUTS
0:28:31 > 0:28:35In Central London, a suspect has been arrested for the bottle attack.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40MAN SHOUTS
0:28:44 > 0:28:49Cheers, mate. I thought I weren't going to take the chance in case...
0:28:49 > 0:28:52The top deck of this bus is now a crime scene.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58The victim has got a head injury.
0:28:58 > 0:28:59At the moment it doesn't appear
0:28:59 > 0:29:03to be serious, thankfully. The offender's been arrested.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06He's going to go to Charring Cross to be dealt with there.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09Bottle has been handled by the offender.
0:29:09 > 0:29:14There's been fingerprints round the bottle. DNA from the neck.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18It will be good evidence. There will be good CCTV from the bus so we can
0:29:18 > 0:29:21just hope that it hopefully will come together and make sure the
0:29:21 > 0:29:26victim gets a good service and results in a conviction in court.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47It's gone 3am, and the nightlife is spilling out on to the streets.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56In Croydon one man is causing a major incident.
0:30:01 > 0:30:02Got a gentleman that's threatening
0:30:02 > 0:30:05to jump off a building there in St George's Walk, Croydon.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07He's been up there for about an hour and a half.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09I don't know what the idea of the mask was.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12He's got a mask and no shirt on.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16CentreComm controllers have diverted buses from the street below.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21Where he was originally, it was across Park Street, which is
0:30:21 > 0:30:22the road that goes across.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25If he'd jumped, he could have jumped in front of a bus or something so...
0:30:27 > 0:30:32The thing is if you've got somebody that is possibly a suicide risk,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35and you've got, you know, buses going past there,
0:30:35 > 0:30:38the unfortunate thing is human nature,
0:30:38 > 0:30:42sadly is that people will be going past on the buses and in cars
0:30:42 > 0:30:45and stuff like that, shouting out the window, "Go on, jump, you fool."
0:30:47 > 0:30:49I've been on nights the past couple of weeks
0:30:49 > 0:30:52and I think we've had three in the last couple of weeks.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55So we are getting more and more of them.
0:30:55 > 0:30:56Police have arrived at the scene,
0:30:56 > 0:31:00but all CentreComm staff can do is watch and wait.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11At weekends, there are never fewer than 850 buses on the roads.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19The best time to get on this bus is between one and five.
0:31:19 > 0:31:25I was sitting next to a guy after clubbing one time at 5am, yeah?
0:31:25 > 0:31:29He sat down next to me, passed out and then soiled himself.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32They thought it was hilarious. They thought it was a big joke.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35I was trapped next to a guy, with this foul stench.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38That's the kind of people that the 25 bus attracts.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46If I go out clubbing and people often ask me, "What if you meet
0:31:46 > 0:31:48"the guy of your dreams and you're dressed as a girl? Like,
0:31:48 > 0:31:50"what's going to happen?"
0:31:50 > 0:31:52And I say, "The guy of my dreams will think it's cool
0:31:52 > 0:31:54"that I like dressing as a girl
0:31:54 > 0:31:57"and he'll be like, 'oh, my god, you're so talented.' "
0:31:57 > 0:32:01I go to Cambridge and I do music at Cambridge.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06And Cambridge is quite different to London in many ways
0:32:06 > 0:32:09and Deena doesn't really come out in Cambridge that often.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12She's barely ever in London. You're lucky she's here.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16- I am privileged.- It's a privilege!
0:32:16 > 0:32:18I think it's wicked. I'm friends with a drag queen.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25I love actually... I love the streets of London and that's why
0:32:25 > 0:32:29I prefer travelling by bus because the view is so fantastic because
0:32:29 > 0:32:33you actually get to see the entire city and it's actually so nice.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42The bright lights, you know,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45and it looks good against the dark backdrop, doesn't it?
0:32:45 > 0:32:49And it gives you a chance to actually take a good look at London.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53You know, which you don't really get a chance to see in the day
0:32:53 > 0:32:56because it is always so busy, and if
0:32:56 > 0:33:00you can see some of the architecture as well, it's quite fascinating.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03Sometimes makes you wonder, like, you know, the people that built
0:33:03 > 0:33:06some of these things, you know.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09Some of them must have been quite brilliant really, so...
0:33:22 > 0:33:26RADIO CHATTER
0:33:28 > 0:33:30It's two hours now.
0:33:30 > 0:33:31Yeah, he's still there.
0:33:33 > 0:33:34We're all getting lax at the moment.
0:33:34 > 0:33:39We're having little breaks when we can cos we should have a meal break
0:33:39 > 0:33:42but during the night we don't actually leave our desks.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45So we sit here for 12 hours. We'll have something to eat
0:33:45 > 0:33:48at the desk, a cup of tea at the desk and just carry on.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59In Brixton, the clean-up has already begun.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03Animals are better because
0:34:03 > 0:34:05when they shit, they hide their shit.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08But human beings can't.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12Blood, takeaways sometimes, vomiting.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14Vomit is the worst.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22Throughout the night, essential work is done to keep the buses moving.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31Yeah, this one.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35One special team has to stop trees growing across the roads.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44SAWING
0:34:51 > 0:34:53When you hit a branch, the tree responds to that
0:34:53 > 0:34:56by putting some timber on around the damage
0:34:56 > 0:34:57so it thickens and flattens.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00So then when the bus hits it again, it then thickens and flattens again
0:35:00 > 0:35:02and then eventually it just causes
0:35:02 > 0:35:05a hell of a lot of damage to the front of the buses.
0:35:09 > 0:35:10In South Kensington,
0:35:10 > 0:35:14Winston Hibbert is changing the ads in the bus stops.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22Let's take this pretty girl out, man. Isn't she nice?
0:35:27 > 0:35:29Oh, she's been here a couple of weeks now.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31Sorry to see you go, baby.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41I've never once had an argument with a bus driver.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44We get in each other's way all the time though.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46They shout at me, "Get out the way!"
0:35:46 > 0:35:49I say, "Look, brother, I'm doing my job, you're doing yours.
0:35:49 > 0:35:50"Can't be helped."
0:35:52 > 0:35:55And I give thanks that I've got a job like this.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57I'd rather do this than sit down at home
0:35:57 > 0:36:01and wondering, "What the hell am I going to do?"
0:36:01 > 0:36:06Winston has been doing this job for eight years and is now 65.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10Most people, man, as soon as they retire, they give up, ain't it?
0:36:13 > 0:36:16They retire and you think you give up.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20I'll never give up, bruv. I ain't got no money,
0:36:20 > 0:36:22I'm struggling but I love life.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27You like her? You can't have her.
0:36:34 > 0:36:35Let's roll.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40This part of town, you've got to have money to live around here
0:36:40 > 0:36:42and be around this side of town.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46Look at the size of these houses, man.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50I mean, renting a place around here,
0:36:50 > 0:36:52it must cost you an arm and a leg, man.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54Couldn't afford to live around here.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04Inner London is now the wealthiest area in Europe.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16The night buses have helped bridge the gap
0:37:16 > 0:37:19between the affordable suburbs and the rich centre.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23But for some, they've become a home.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31Well, the 25 is famous for a lot of sleepers.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34We get a lot of sleepers on this route. They just maybe can't pay
0:37:34 > 0:37:38for the rent so they decide to stay and sleep on the bus at night.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41This last winter here, we've had loads of people
0:37:41 > 0:37:44sleeping on the bus - every colour, every race, every creed.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48We have them as young as 12, 13, on this route, sleeping.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51On a cold night, Donovan Phillips will pick up
0:37:51 > 0:37:53at least half a dozen homeless passengers.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56Sometimes I feel sad because you're thinking
0:37:56 > 0:37:59when you've finished you go home to a nice warm bed
0:37:59 > 0:38:02and these people on the streets all night. I mean, especially the
0:38:02 > 0:38:07young women - they've vulnerable. You just feel sorry for these people
0:38:07 > 0:38:10because it can be a lonely, lonely life,
0:38:10 > 0:38:13going up and down on the buses and you haven't got nowhere to stay.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18London is one of the most expensive cities in the world.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21Some of them work during the day, you know they have a job but they
0:38:21 > 0:38:24just can't afford to pay the rent, so they come here and they sleep.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27Well, you're going to a nice comfy bed.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30Me? This is my front room, mate. This is my bedroom.
0:38:30 > 0:38:31This is where you'll stay?
0:38:31 > 0:38:34- This is where I stay. - The whole night?
0:38:34 > 0:38:35All night, brother.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37You see the whole of London, don't you?
0:38:37 > 0:38:39Well, yeah.
0:38:39 > 0:38:40That's quite nice, isn't it?
0:38:40 > 0:38:43Jeff Malone has been on and off the streets,
0:38:43 > 0:38:45and buses, for the past five years.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49One day, I'll be a millionaire.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51You have to be optimistic. You don't know, you know.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55If I put a pound on the lottery, you never know, I might be one.
0:38:55 > 0:38:59Beautiful, that one there. That is a McLaren.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01One day, I will get one of those. I'll go in there,
0:39:01 > 0:39:05dressed up like a tramp, yeah, and they will try and run me
0:39:05 > 0:39:10out the place, yeah. You know what I'll do? Open up a bag
0:39:10 > 0:39:13and then dust the cash right on the table, yeah.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16You know what I'll tell the arsehole? Never judge
0:39:16 > 0:39:19a book by its cover cos you never know who you may discover.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26Despite efforts to curb homelessness,
0:39:26 > 0:39:30last year, the number of rough sleepers in London went up by 40%.
0:39:33 > 0:39:37What you do basically, street tobacco, yeah?
0:39:37 > 0:39:41You get a clean one. Every homeless guy does this,
0:39:41 > 0:39:43cos sometimes you can't even afford
0:39:43 > 0:39:46bloody tobacco that we can smoke, yeah?
0:39:46 > 0:39:50Cos sometimes you ask people and they tell us to F-U-C-K off.
0:39:57 > 0:40:02You've got to avoid certain routes during the weekends
0:40:02 > 0:40:05cos you've got the partygoers, and you can't get no sleep.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08Yeah. So you have to choose the more quieter routes.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12And that, to me, that's where I can get a little bit of warmth
0:40:12 > 0:40:14and shelter and that and feel human.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16But when you're sleeping on a street, you're not...
0:40:16 > 0:40:20You're not human, man. You're like a dog. You know what I mean?
0:40:20 > 0:40:23My mum never raised me as no dog or no pet.
0:40:24 > 0:40:29The N9 is the longest run, night bus service all the way cos it
0:40:29 > 0:40:34goes to the outskirts of London, right? It's about 82 minutes,
0:40:34 > 0:40:36which is about an hour and something, that's equivalent
0:40:36 > 0:40:39to a flight from Heathrow...
0:40:39 > 0:40:41From Heathrow to Spain.
0:40:44 > 0:40:50Let's go boys. Let's go to a real luxury tour, come on.
0:40:50 > 0:40:51Here we are.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58Thanks. All right?
0:41:01 > 0:41:02Oh, man.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07Oh.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12This is what you... This is my bedroom, this is.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14MUSIC: "Concrete Jungle" by Bob Marley
0:41:14 > 0:41:18# No sun will shine in my day today
0:41:20 > 0:41:22# No sun will shine... #
0:41:22 > 0:41:25I remember when I was first homeless.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Boy, oh, boy, oh, boy.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30It was a frightening experience.
0:41:30 > 0:41:31It all went just like that.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34Property crash, you know? It just went.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37Lost everything. Learn how to survive out here cos it's,
0:41:37 > 0:41:41like Bob Marley says, it's like a concrete jungle.
0:41:41 > 0:41:42It is a concrete jungle.
0:41:44 > 0:41:50# Where is the love to be found?
0:41:50 > 0:41:52# Won't someone tell me?
0:41:52 > 0:41:56- # Cos life...- Sweet life - ..must be somewhere
0:41:56 > 0:41:58# To be found. #
0:41:58 > 0:42:01And we've still got the man on the roof in Croydon.
0:42:03 > 0:42:08The man threatening to jump has started communicating with police.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12He was going like that.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15He was giving the, um... There he goes, look.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19Seriously, I don't think he's likely to be a jump.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Yeah, I think he's just... He's got a bee in his bonnet
0:42:22 > 0:42:26about something and he's having a go at the police about it as well.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29Normal jumpers, they'll, they'll sit and they'll talk and
0:42:29 > 0:42:33they're on the edge and they're on the verge of jumping off.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37With controllers deciding he is now less of a risk,
0:42:37 > 0:42:39buses are taken off diversion.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46Maybe it's just an attention thing, you know. I mean, he's certainly
0:42:46 > 0:42:50getting plenty of that. He's got the fire brigade standing by,
0:42:50 > 0:42:53he's got possibly an ambulance standing by, the police standing by.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56Who can see into the minds of some people, you know?
0:42:59 > 0:43:01N98. Called code red. Go ahead.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13In Brixton, PK and Dwayne are entitled to an hour's break.
0:43:18 > 0:43:23- We're at Arriva Brixton's social...- Common room.- Common room.
0:43:23 > 0:43:24Like school.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28And my man Dwayne here's giving me a few pointers.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32I think it's for drivers to let off a bit of steam.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35Like, when they come in from their break and, you know, even
0:43:35 > 0:43:38before they go home, because the one thing you don't want to do in this
0:43:38 > 0:43:42job is take the stress of the day home with you. When you're dealing
0:43:42 > 0:43:45with miserable people, they've got bad things going on in their
0:43:45 > 0:43:49lives, we seem to be the people they take it out on, the bus driver.
0:43:49 > 0:43:53You know, anything that's going wrong in their lives, it comes to us.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55If people have spent their money, you know,
0:43:55 > 0:43:58they've got hangovers, some of them didn't get none on the weekend,
0:43:58 > 0:44:01you know. So all things like that are factors.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04I try and keep upbeat and think of the money at the end of the week.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06Hello. How are you?
0:44:17 > 0:44:20'What I like about working nights - it's quiet,
0:44:20 > 0:44:22'it's more flexible for me.
0:44:22 > 0:44:25'I like to do things in the day.'
0:44:25 > 0:44:28I used to be a swimming instructor before and a lifeguard.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31I done that since I left school.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34Then I was bored of that and then I was on the bus going home.
0:44:34 > 0:44:37I saw it on another bus on the other side of the road -
0:44:37 > 0:44:40£500 a week. So I thought, "Why not?"
0:44:48 > 0:44:51Jeff has arrived at the end of the line.
0:44:53 > 0:44:54Here we are.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03- BUS:- This bus terminates here. Please take all your belongings with you.
0:45:04 > 0:45:08Well, here I am. My luxury hotel.
0:45:09 > 0:45:10Terminal five.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15The longest route in London.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18Steel and glass, brother.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21You know what I mean? It's clean, man.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24You can even shower in here in Heathrow as well.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27There's a certain terminal that you can go and shower if you want.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30I'm going to use the men's room and come back out
0:45:30 > 0:45:32and then jump back on the N9 again.
0:45:32 > 0:45:33That's what I do.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38Well, I've got to look like I'm a tourist, ain't it?
0:45:42 > 0:45:46# Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner
0:45:46 > 0:45:48# That I love London town
0:45:49 > 0:45:53# I get a funny feeling inside of me... #
0:45:53 > 0:45:54HE CHUCKLES
0:46:03 > 0:46:04Yeah, you get people everywhere.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08If I have the cap off and drive like this, in certain areas,
0:46:08 > 0:46:10you'll get looks, but when you speak to them,
0:46:10 > 0:46:14cos I'm born and bred here and you speak slightly cockney,
0:46:14 > 0:46:17they think, "He's one of us."
0:46:17 > 0:46:20Get a few people coming on, preaching the Bible and other things.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24A bloke come on the bus and he started screaming and shouting,
0:46:24 > 0:46:26"We're going to hell! This is happening, that's happening.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28"The world's falling apart."
0:46:28 > 0:46:32And he started scaring the other passengers.
0:46:32 > 0:46:33So I told him, "Sit down quietly.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35"We're not going to hell, we're going to Ilford."
0:46:46 > 0:46:50Being a Muslim, we've got to do our five prayers a day and I try to cram
0:46:50 > 0:46:53the prayers in in our break times.
0:46:53 > 0:46:54And I do that. It's like a gym workout.
0:46:54 > 0:46:58If you don't do it, you feel ill. It's compulsory, not optional.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00Take your socks off first.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04This place is usually flooded.
0:47:05 > 0:47:07Got to be careful how we do it all.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14This is the hot water and it's freezing cold.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20You've got to do your feet and all.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24So now I'm in the prayer mode.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27Otherwise you can't pray unless you've done an ablution.
0:47:27 > 0:47:28You've cleaned yourself up
0:47:28 > 0:47:32and you're lucky you're not touching urine or anything.
0:47:32 > 0:47:34Lean up against there and put my socks on.
0:47:37 > 0:47:38Put me towel through.
0:47:41 > 0:47:44Lovely jubbly. Feel the cold now.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50This is another thing on the bus.
0:47:50 > 0:47:52Which way do we pray? How do we know it's Mecca?
0:47:52 > 0:47:54So I turn around, wherever I am,
0:47:54 > 0:47:58you look out for a satellite dish. Couple of dishes over there.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01And whichever way they're facing, that's usually towards Mecca.
0:48:05 > 0:48:06Usually, you plan this out.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09All day long, we know where we're going from one end to the other end
0:48:09 > 0:48:14and where the bus stops are, where the stations are, I look it all up.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17We looked it up so we're planning it.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20HE WHISPERS PRAYER
0:48:45 > 0:48:47Jeff has more earthly concerns.
0:48:47 > 0:48:51He's waiting for the N9 back into town from Heathrow.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53Man, have you got a spare roll-up on you?
0:48:53 > 0:48:57A cigarette on you, family? Cheers, fam.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59He's not flying anywhere today
0:48:59 > 0:49:02but he's never forgotten what the city looks like from the air.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07The first thing I saw when I was flying over London
0:49:07 > 0:49:09was all the sea of red buses.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12That was the thing. It's the lifeblood of London.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16Well, the buses are red, aren't they?
0:49:19 > 0:49:21Since he lost his business and his home,
0:49:21 > 0:49:24the buses have been a lifeline to Jeff.
0:49:24 > 0:49:28Like I say, you're one pay cheque away from being on the street, fam.
0:49:28 > 0:49:33One pay cheque away. Anybody. You, me, anyone.
0:49:33 > 0:49:39If you don't bring in that M-O-N-E-Y on the table, this is what happens.
0:49:44 > 0:49:45This is us now.
0:49:53 > 0:49:5524/7, seven days a week.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02Just another page in your life, isn't it?
0:50:06 > 0:50:08With morning rush hour fast approaching,
0:50:08 > 0:50:10the number of buses on the roads will soon quadruple.
0:50:16 > 0:50:17RADIO CHATTER
0:50:17 > 0:50:20Yeah, understood, man. I'll have a part of the yard up and ready
0:50:20 > 0:50:24for you shortly and I'll give you a call when it's ready, yeah?
0:50:24 > 0:50:28In the East End, yard controller H is getting them ready to go.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31We're just putting all the bus numbers down
0:50:31 > 0:50:32in what lanes they're in
0:50:32 > 0:50:35so we get it ready for the run-out in the morning.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38This is why we have to have the gap in between.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41And they take the mickey out of me sometimes, because they say
0:50:41 > 0:50:43they've got to make the gap bigger.
0:50:43 > 0:50:45Cheeky little buggers.
0:50:46 > 0:50:47266.
0:50:47 > 0:50:5044074.
0:50:50 > 0:50:52In front of that, 281.
0:50:52 > 0:50:54This is what I'm talking about.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01I've been in the bus industry 29 years.
0:51:01 > 0:51:05Started out as a driver. Yeah, my dad used to say to me, he said,
0:51:05 > 0:51:07"Get into the bus industry.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10"You'll get a good pension." You know?
0:51:10 > 0:51:16And it made him proud, really, and my dad, for the first time, was crying
0:51:16 > 0:51:19with joy and that's the first time I've ever seen him cry for anything.
0:51:19 > 0:51:24He was so taken in that I was working for London Transport.
0:51:25 > 0:51:29To get a job like this was a very, very big thing.
0:51:29 > 0:51:34Yeah, I'm from a Caribbean background and when you go back on holiday,
0:51:34 > 0:51:36to say that you work for London Transport
0:51:36 > 0:51:39it was a big thing. It still is today, really.
0:51:40 > 0:51:41See you later.
0:51:47 > 0:51:53My dad retired from the Post Office and my mum was working
0:51:53 > 0:51:57as a dinner lady in a school and he'd realised that she'd finished
0:51:57 > 0:51:59work early so he decided that he's going to get home to see her.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03So what does he do? He runs for the bus. When he gets to the bus
0:52:03 > 0:52:04it was the old Routemasters
0:52:04 > 0:52:07and he got on the back and downstairs was full
0:52:07 > 0:52:10and he ran upstairs and then he had a heart attack.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15And my dad died on a bus.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20That knocked me sideways, big time.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22Ah.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24Ah, it killed me.
0:52:25 > 0:52:2672.
0:52:27 > 0:52:3072 and he died on a bus.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47It's the end of the night shift at CentreComm.
0:52:49 > 0:52:54Yeah, I'm signing off for another night soon.
0:52:54 > 0:52:56No, I've got to go home and go to sleep.
0:52:56 > 0:52:58You've got all day to survive, haven't you?
0:52:58 > 0:53:01Someone else had decided he's ready to go home.
0:53:02 > 0:53:05He's got a jacket on to warm up.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08Letting him have a cigarette before they take him into the cells I think.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11The man on the roof has come back down to earth safely.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14He's on handcuffs. Yeah.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19All smiles. I think they might know him.
0:53:19 > 0:53:20Who brought these?
0:53:22 > 0:53:23Breakfast?
0:53:29 > 0:53:32- They're nice.- No, I'm going home. Straight home to bed.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38We'll, see you all tonight who's here. See you later, people.
0:53:38 > 0:53:39See you later on.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45The night drivers are coming to the end of their shift.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49But first, they have to deal with the final wave of passengers.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53These are like your early morning workers, cleaners that have
0:53:53 > 0:53:57just finished jobs or just going to jobs to clean them and all that.
0:53:57 > 0:54:01Cos it's a big city, a lot of the places are 24 hours and that,
0:54:01 > 0:54:04there's a lot of people that are still floating around working
0:54:04 > 0:54:06while everyone's sleeping, like me.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12London doesn't sleep. 24-hour city.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17Tubes close, train drivers go home.
0:54:18 > 0:54:24Bus drivers don't. They're on 24 hours, seven days a week.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46In the East End, H is signing in a fresh army of daytime drivers.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50So it's going to be 149, Mick.
0:54:50 > 0:54:53And that's going to be in lane number four.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56I ain't sending you to lane 14 today,
0:54:56 > 0:54:58I'm going to send you to lane ten.
0:54:58 > 0:55:01He has the power to decide who gets which bus.
0:55:01 > 0:55:05- This is bus number 225. Is that a good bus?- Yes.
0:55:05 > 0:55:06It's a good bus. Why?
0:55:06 > 0:55:08It's a good bus. It drives nice and smoothly.
0:55:08 > 0:55:12- And the seat's good.- Yeah, see? - The seat is very important.
0:55:12 > 0:55:14It's got to be comfortable.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18Please use the walkway, pull your bus forward, drive carefully and...?
0:55:18 > 0:55:20- Have a nice day. - Have a nice day. Thank you.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23Go. You watching back, yeah?
0:55:24 > 0:55:27If you look in the bus force there you'll see that's all
0:55:27 > 0:55:30the night buses that have come in. So they're all waiting to be
0:55:30 > 0:55:34fuelled, swept, parked up and back out again.
0:55:38 > 0:55:43The run-out is four and a half hours to get rid of 206 buses
0:55:43 > 0:55:45and that's the total buses we do every morning.
0:55:45 > 0:55:47Yes, go on.
0:55:53 > 0:55:57Tommy has made it back home in one piece.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00It's when you get home, you feel tired. At the moment I'm OK,
0:56:00 > 0:56:04but as soon as you get home it sort of hits you.
0:56:04 > 0:56:08Watch a bit of telly, read the paper then I go to bed.
0:56:08 > 0:56:10And then get up and start all over again.
0:56:13 > 0:56:15In Brixton, PK is clocking off.
0:56:18 > 0:56:22Took £21.60 tonight.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25- Wow.- Yeah.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27Most people are travelling with Oysters
0:56:27 > 0:56:29so it is better that we don't have to carry cash.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32Hopefully it will get to the point where we don't have to take
0:56:32 > 0:56:35cash at all and then that way it's just easier all round.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37Right, good night, everybody.
0:56:42 > 0:56:45London's changed a lot. I think it's showing now,
0:56:45 > 0:56:49with the night buses being as busy as they are
0:56:49 > 0:56:51and as packed as they can be,
0:56:51 > 0:56:54how much of a melting pot it is. But, yeah, I love it.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57It's London. I think even if I had the opportunity to move away,
0:56:57 > 0:57:00I think I'd miss the hustle and bustle and the busyness of it and
0:57:00 > 0:57:04I think that's what gets you - once you're in it, you're in it.
0:57:05 > 0:57:09And now I'm going home cos I've got a hot date with a young
0:57:09 > 0:57:11Lara Croft on the Xbox 360.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14Cos she got herself in some trouble again,
0:57:14 > 0:57:16so I've got to go and help her out of that situation.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19And I've got to do that, I've got about an hour of doing that
0:57:19 > 0:57:23before the kids wake up and I've got to cook them breakfast, so I'm
0:57:23 > 0:57:27going to do that and then I'll most probably go off to sleep myself.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd