TfL welcomes suspension of bus industrial action

19 Sep 2014 11:28 AM

TfL welcomes suspension of industrial action on London United bus services on Friday 19 September 

TfL has welcomed news that a strike planned for tomorrow (Friday 19 September) by members of the Unite union, who work for London United, has been suspended, following an agreement to go to ACAS for talks.

A second 24-hour strike, due to take place on Monday 22 September, is still scheduled to take place.

The strike, which is planned to take place between 00:01 and 23:59 on Monday 22 September, will affect bus services in south west London on Monday 22 September and night bus services on Monday into the early hours of Tuesday 23 September.

Bus services during the day on Tuesday 23 September should operate as normal.

Other companies unaffected

Bus services operated by other companies across the capital are unaffected and will operate a normal service.

The planned strike action will affect bus routes in south west London but also some routes into central London, including the 9/N9, 10, 94, 148 and C1.

No unnecessary disruption

Leon Daniels, TfL's Managing Director of Surface Transport, said: 'I am pleased that bus passengers in south west London will not suffer unnecessary disruption tomorrow.

'I welcome Unite and London United taking this matter to ACAS and would urge them to bring it to a swift and fair resolution.

'I would continue to advise passengers to check before they travel ahead of a planned second strike on Monday.

'Our teams will continue to work hard to get as much information out there as possible using a variety of channels.'

London United operates around 50 bus routes in London and the strike action on Monday is likely to result in severe disruption on a significant number of routes and some services not running.

Some Tube services in south London are expected to be busier than normal - so customers are being urged to allow a little more time to complete their journeys.

TfL is depoying extra staff

TfL is also deploying extra staff to assist passengers at various locations, including bus stops and bus stations, and to hand out walking maps.

Bus drivers pay and conditions are a matter for London United and Unite to discuss, as it has been for 20 years.

We are calling for Unite and London United to swiftly resolve this dispute so our passengers do not suffer unnecessary disruption.

Keeping passengers informed

TfL is keeping passengers informed of the status of their services in a range of ways. These include:

Where services are disrupted TfL urges passengers to use other transport options, or to walk or cycle where possible.

The average bus journey is around 2.2 miles so many of these journeys could be made in this way.

TfL has put in place a number of additional measures to help people get around and to manage disruption. These include:

Notes to Editors: