London Bus Strike: Does It Affect Your Route?

BethPH
By BethPH Last edited 109 months ago
London Bus Strike: Does It Affect Your Route?

Photo by ArUK5 in the Londonist Flickr pool

The first in a series of three strikes by bus drivers is set to go ahead on Thursday 5 February. Will your bus route be affected?

If your route is run by one of the companies below, you might want to consider alternative transport.

  • Abellio London and Abellio West London
  • Arriva North and Arriva South
  • CT Plus (Hackney Community Transport)
  • Go Ahead (Blue Triangle, Docklands, London General, London Central, Metrobus)
  • London Sovereign
  • London United
  • Metroline and Metroline West
  • Stagecoach (East London Bus & Coach Company, Selkent)
  • Tower Transit

Transport for London (TfL) will put taxi marshals in place at Charing Cross, Euston, King's Cross, Liverpool Street, London Bridge, North Greenwich, Stratford, Victoria and Waterloo. Sharing a cab will be encouraged too.

Taking to the river could be a better option, as MBNA Thames Clippers say they will operate extra peak-time services between Woolwich and Embankment piers. It's also a pretty civilised way to travel given they have a bar, toilets and you won't have to jostle for a seat.

For anyone planning to take to two wheels (or two feet), the weather forecast for Thursday isn't great at the moment, but on the bright side at least you'll get some exercise. Use TfL's cycle journey planner to find your route to work.

If you really can't avoid taking a bus, use the Twitter travel alerts from @TfL and @TfLBusAlerts with the hashtag #BusStrike. Live travel information will also be available on www.tfl.gov.uk/buses.

TfL has urged the Unite union to call off the strike, saying it will achieve nothing but further inconvenience and is 'unnecessary'. Drivers from 18 bus companies are also expected to walk out on Friday 13 February and Monday 16 February in an ongoing dispute over parity of pay. TfL claim that increasing drivers' pay will result in fare increases.

Update: Unite has accused TfL of 'misleading' passengers over its neutrality. Unite regional officer Wayne King said:

“TfL should be playing a constructive role in facilitating a resolution to the dispute with London’s 18 bus operators, who despite our tireless efforts over two years are refusing to talk collectively about ending pay inequality.

“To suggest this is unlawful is misinformed and to suggest fares may rise when the capital’s bus operators are making combined profits of £171.7 million per year is misleading. TfL’s interference is failing passengers and the men and women who keep London’s buses on the road.

“Passengers should also be clear that this isn’t a political dispute, it’s an industrial one. TfL with its continuing meddling seem to want to take this away from being a straightforward industrial dispute between bus drivers and their employers and turn it into a political football.

“TfL should either take a constructive role or keep out of it and let the operators speak for themselves.”

Use TfL's website for live updates on tube, rail and DLR services.

Last Updated 04 February 2015