When are the bus strikes this week and which routes are affected?

Some dubbed summer 2022 the ‘summer of discontent’, and it looks like it’s going to be spilling over into the winter: there are even more public-transport strikes in the capital. London bus drivers have announced even more industrial action over the Christmas period.

Almost 2,000 Unite Members who work for Abellio in south and west London will strike, affecting 59 bus routes. Following December’s 10 days of action, 11 more days have been announced for late December and throughout January, including Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. 

What dates are the London bus strikes?

The new strike days are December 24, 27 and 31 December and January 4, 5, 10, 12, 16, 19, 25 and 26.

Which bus routes will be affected?

The action will primarily affect buses in south and west London. Striking workers will be from depots in Battersea, Beddington, Hayes, Southall, Twickenham and Walworth.

These are the 59 affected routes:

3, 24, 27, 45, 63, 68, 109, 111, 130, 156, 159, 195, 196, 201, 207, 267, 270, 278, 285, 315, 322, 344, 345, 350, 367, 381, 407, 415, 427, 433, 464, 482, 490, 671, 969, C10, E5, E7, E10, E11, H20, H25, H26, H28, P5, P13, R68, R70, S4, U5, U7, U9, N3, N27, N63, N68, N109, N207 and N381.

Why were the Metroline bus strikes called off?

Members of Unite employed by Metroline were also due to strike this month, affecting more bus routes in north and west London, but the industrial action has been called off after staff agreed on a new pay offer.

Why are bus workers striking and what have the unions said?

It’s a dispute over pay: the union says that Abellio hasn’t offered its drivers a fair pay rise, despite pay rises being due to take place in January. 

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘Abellio is a vastly wealthy multinational company that could and should be paying its workers a fair pay increase. With workers struggling to cope with rampant inflation, Abellio’s failure to even enter into meaningful pay talks is cold-hearted and callous.

‘Unite is now entirely focused on defending and enhancing the jobs, pay and conditions of its members and the bus drivers at Abellio will be receiving the union’s complete support.’

Abellio London’s managing director Jon Eardley has issued a statement: ‘We urge Unite to recognise Abellio’s 12 percent pay deal and encourage their members to resume normal services. The Abellio pay deal comes with no conditions and sees bus driver basic pay rise by an average of £100 per week and over £5,000 per year, bringing an established bus driver’s salary to around £40,000 per year. We also currently pay one of the highest rates in London for new bus drivers… We are deeply disappointed that despite this offer Unite plan to continue strike action over Christmas and into the New Year, bringing further disruption to hundreds of thousands of Londoners.’

Are there any other London public transport strikes planned?

The RMT Union has announced a new slew of strikes over December 2022 and January 2023. The remaining dates are December 24, 25, 26, 27 and January 3, 4, 6 and 7. The union has also issued an overtime ban for its members across the railway network from December 18 to January 2, meaning a total of four weeks of disruption. 

So far, these train lines have confirmed that they will be taking part:

Great Western Railway, Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, LNER, Greater Anglia, Cross Country Trains, South Western, West Midlands Railway, Northern, GTR (including Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express), Southeastern, c2c. 

Will the tube and Overground be running?

Alongside the strikes, there is a lot of Network Rail engineering work in the capital over the festive period which will also impact London Underground and Overground services. Lines affected are the Bakerloo, District & Circle, Waterloo & City and the Overground. Find a TfL calendar of upcoming works here

Your guide to public transport in London over Christmas and New Year.

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