Tube strike travel advice for customers and road users

04 February 2016
Tube services will run but many stations may open late, close early, or may not open at all
"Our customers are advised to check the TfL website for the latest information as we try to keep London moving should the RMT proceed with its strike action"
Steve Griffiths
Chief Operating Officer, London Underground
  • Buses do not accept cash so customers will need to use their contactless debit or credit card, Oyster, or bus & tram pass
  • Customers are advised to check before they travel at tfl.gov.uk/tube-strike and by following @TfLTravelAlerts, @TfLTrafficNews and @TfLBusAlerts on Twitter

Transport for London (TfL) has today outlined the measures it will put in place to help keep London moving in the event that planned strike action on the Tube takes place.

The RMT union is currently planning to strike from 9pm on Saturday 6 February for 48 hours. If this goes ahead, London Underground (LU) services would be disrupted from early evening on Saturday and all day on Sunday 7 and Monday 8 February.

The strike involves Tube station staff, which means Tube services will be running, but many stations may open late, close early, or may not open at all.

Services on the DLR, London Overground, the bus network, tram, river and TfL Rail services will run normally, but they may be much busier than usual.

Weekend engineering works on the Tube, TfL Rail and London Overground will go ahead as planned. Details of the works are available from www.tfl.gov.uk/status-updates.

Many locations in central London are easily accessible from mainline rail stations, and TfL will have staff on hand to help people get to their destinations on foot, by bus, by Santander Cycles or by other means.

Extra buses will be provided to boost capacity. These will be very busy and customers are asked to bear with the transport staff who are at work and trying to help them get around.

Extra cycle hubs will be available, and some existing cycle hubs in central London will have more cycles available than usual for the morning and evening peak.

Customers should check before travel and use TfL's real-time travel tools to check which stations are affected. Travel advice and more information about the strike is available at tfl.gov.uk/tube-strike.

Steve Griffiths, London Underground's Chief Operating Officer, said:

'Our customers are advised to check the TfL website for the latest information as we try to keep London moving should the RMT proceed with its strike action.

'All of our ticket offices closed in December and all this strike will achieve is to lose staff two days' pay and a 500 bonus. We have delivered every commitment we made to our staff over our stations modernisation programme - there have been no compulsory redundancies, work life balance has been protected and there's a job for anyone who wants to stay with no loss of pay. Around 900 station staff will be promoted or will move from fixed-term contracts to permanent roles, so there is clearly absolutely no basis whatsoever for this strike threat.

'These changes have also meant we can now offer a more personal service for our customers, as we have moved our staff into ticket halls where they are more visible and can be of more assistance. As a result, we are seeing increases in customer satisfaction, particularly with the helpfulness of staff.'

Travel advice to customers during the strike action:

Tube

The strike involves Tube station staff, which would affect services as follows:

  • Saturday 6 February: some stations may close earlier than usual. Please allow more time and complete your Tube journey
  • Sunday 7 February: some stations may not open, and some stations may open later and close earlier than usual
  • Monday 8 February: some stations may not open, and some stations may open later and close earlier than usual
  • Normal services on Tuesday 9 February, but customers should check before they travel

Should the strike action go ahead, LU expects that services will be disrupted from early evening on Saturday - customers are advised to complete their journeys earlier than usual and to check before they travel. All other public transport services and roads will be much busier than usual.

There will be a normal service on Tuesday 9 February, however customers are advised to check before they travel.

TfL Ambassadors and volunteers will also be on hand to provide customers with travel information and advice on the ground. TfL urges all customers to plan ahead and to check before they travel at www.tfl.gov.uk/tube-strike and by following @TfLTravelAlerts, @TfLTrafficNews and @TfLBusAlerts on Twitter.