London bus strikes start this week: what you need to know
Heatwave London impacts widen
Bus-driving members of the Unite union have plans to strike this week, and beyond, over concerns about working conditions.
The first of these strike dates land on 14th and 15th August, the start of this weekend, and will likely affect routes around Barking, Edmonton, Enfield, Grays, Palmers Green, Stamford Hill, Tottenham and Wood Green.
So why are drivers striking? It’s a pretty understandable complaint if you’ve been on a bus recently: the drivers argue all buses should have proper aircon, and that what they have today is insufficient.
Some buses have it, others have a simple air recirculation system that ends up just pushing hot air around.
The strike is part of a dispute between around 1500 bus drivers working out of eight London bus garages, and Arriva North London, the company responsible for services in the affected parts of North London and Essex.
This first duo of strike dates arrives during a week when London temperatures are set to reach peaks of 35 degrees centigrade, on Thursday.
Here are the proposed list of strikes dates ahead:
- Friday 14th August - Saturday 15th August
- Tuesday 18th August - Friday 21st August
- Tuesday 25th August - Friday 28th August
- Friday 4th September - Saturday 5th September
- Monday 7th September - Tuesday 8th September
- Friday 18th September - Saturday 19th September
- Monday 21st September - Tuesday 22nd September
- Friday 2nd October - Saturday 3rd October
- Monday 5th October - Tuesday 6th October
- Friday 16th October - Saturday 17th October
- Monday 19th October - Tuesday 20th October
It is not yet clear how widespread the disruption will be on these days, or exactly which routes will be affected. And Arriva is yet to publish any updated advice on the news section of its website.
You can expect delays and cancellations of services, though, particularly if you’ll be around the areas mentioned at the top of this story.
“We know those who rely on these bus services will be dismayed to hear of industrial action, but it is entirely the fault of Arriva who has completely failed to listen to our members,” says Unite officer Steven Stockwell.
Transport for London published the results of a freedom of information request regarding aircon on public transport last year, which indicate it is — unsurprisingly — the older buses around London that do not have full air conditioning.
“All buses introduced since circa 2006 have air conditioning in the driver's cab and air cooling on the top deck of double-deck buses. Buses featuring the newest specification for air conditioning have entered service since 2024,” says TfL.
The post does seem to claim all London buses have aircon for the driver, though.
“Air conditioning technology varies across London's bus fleet, but all London buses have some form of air cooling. All London buses have air conditioning in the driver's cab,” says TfL.
This could be a case of disagreement over what actually constitutes "air conditioning" in action.
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