Strikes by London bus drivers set to cause disruption

A strike by bus drivers is set to cause travel disruption in parts of London in the coming weeks.

Passengers are being warned there will be little or no service if members of Unite at eight routes mainly in West London go ahead with planned action on November 10 and 13 and December 1, 4, 22 and 23.

The walkout by employees of RATP Dev Transit London may also affect services on the day after the strikes.

Louise Cheeseman, Transport for London’s director of buses, said: “If this action goes ahead there will still be travel options for people in west London and other parts of the capital.

“Other routes may be busier than normal and we’re encouraging everyone who might be affected to plan ahead, allow extra time for their journeys and check before they travel using our website or the TfL Go app.

“We encourage both parties to find a solution to this dispute to avoid disruption to Londoners. We’re sorry for any disruption to people’s journeys.”

TfL suggested that travellers should consider alternative transport such as London Underground, London Overground, Elizabeth line, National Rail services or walking and cycling.

Unite said more than 350 bus drivers and engineers will be on strike after rejecting a 6.8% pay offer, which the union described as a “significant real-terms pay cut”.

General secretary Sharon Graham said: “RATP is a massive multinational company. It can absolutely afford to table an acceptable pay increase and does not to need to attack workers’ terms and conditions.

“Unite is totally focused on defending and improving our members’ jobs, pay and conditions. The workers at RATP have their union’s total backing during these strikes.”

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