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TFL bus strike

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GodAtum

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Anyone else affected? Instead of taking the 149 or 48 from London Bridge to Liverpool Street I had to take a bus to Monument, walk to the Central Line and take that to Liverpool Street!
 
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A-driver

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Is it not quicker to walk? 15-20mins tops London bridge to liv street.
 

GodAtum

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I already walked for over an hour to get to my station to get the train to London! It's 4 miles to East Croydon from where I live and there are no other public transport options. Could TFL compensate me to get a taxi?
 

bicbasher

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Only one route is running along my road with a very limited service. The rail station is a mile away, so not too bad.
 

313103

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I know the majority on this forum wont like what i have put below but im going to put on anyway.

My local routes run by Comfort Delgro (Metroline) are running normally as the usual practise of going to the law courts instead of negotiating a settlement continues unabated. Of the other compaines i didnt see any Arriva vehicles until i got to Kings Cross then saw a couple of Tottenham allocated buses operating on the 73. Go Ahead were running the 19 normally. HCT had no buses outon the 153 neither did First have any on the 236, Stagecoach had no 106s either.

Even so that stopped me from using the bus service and walked and used a tube instead. Just a pity that some people never learn, i only hope that if unite do get something out of this it doesnt go to those staff who broke todays action. Liked the solidarity shown by those that were out.

Yet a group of staff who havent been on strike since i was 18 is castigated. I bet there are quite a few people who go on this forum would have thought bus drivers dont strike!

As for the Sub standard headline of Londoners beat the bus strikes what a load of tosh.
 

starrymarkb

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Given that we were getting abuse where I work because of the strikers I can't say I'm their biggest fan. We are not TfL and because we are not on strike doesn't mean you can shout and swear at us because your route isn't running. I deal with rural services!
 

NY Yankee

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Is it just me, or is there a TFL strike every week? I love London, but this has to be my only pet peeve. How do you guys deal with these weekly strikes?
 

Clip

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Is it just me, or is there a TFL strike every week? I love London, but this has to be my only pet peeve. How do you guys deal with these weekly strikes?

Stiff upper lip and that British resolve we are reknowned(sp) for.

In other words we just get on with it.
 

Class377/5

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I didn't even know there was a strike till I got to work. We only get one bus where I am and it was running normally.
 

ert47

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Anyone else affected? Instead of taking the 149 or 48 from London Bridge to Liverpool Street I had to take a bus to Monument, walk to the Central Line and take that to Liverpool Street!

Wouldn't it have been easier (and cheaper) to get the tube from London Bridge?
 

Clip

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I didn't even know there was a strike till I got to work. We only get one bus where I am and it was running normally.

Not a fan of the news??? ;)


Had to tell off a cleaner or two this morning for being late.

"Sorry boss but I didnt realise there was a bus strike so had to wait ages/walk a bit till I found one"

Me: So why did you sign to say that you read and understood the memo last week that said that bus strikes on friday 22nd June may impede you getting to work on time and you should find alternative routes and leave enough time to get in?

"Erm, sorry"


Daft arses the lot of em but you have to laugh :lol:
 

snail

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Even so that stopped me from using the bus service and walked and used a tube instead. Just a pity that some people never learn, i only hope that if unite do get something out of this it doesnt go to those staff who broke todays action. Liked the solidarity shown by those that were out.
So you support the strike but would have caught a bus if it was running? Hmmm.
 

Statto

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Loath the Unite Union, there the ones who caused the strike in London blackmailing the bus companies for a £500 bonus for for the drivers for working during the Olympics, just for a normal shift, or they'll go on Strike.

Unite have been going round causing all sort of strikes in the bus industry[& not just the bus industry, BA to name a few] the last few years, annoying Ed Milliband doesn't have the guts to reign them in.:x
 

313103

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Is it just me, or is there a TFL strike every week? I love London, but this has to be my only pet peeve. How do you guys deal with these weekly strikes?

My dear friend in New York did you not see that i mention that the last time London Buses were on strike was when i was 18..................... Exactly 30 YES 30 years ago!

So i will say with a bit of British humor is that YES It is you!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
So you support the strike but would have caught a bus if it was running? Hmmm.

I would never cross a picket line, i would never use a bus, train, or tube service that is being operated by others who wish to break a dispute.

So in answer to your question it is a NO even if it means walking! As that is the choice i had. Use a bus that has used the courts or walk. I choose walk.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Loath the Unite Union, there the ones who caused the strike in London blackmailing the bus companies for a £500 bonus for for the drivers for working during the Olympics, just for a normal shift, or they'll go on Strike.

Unite have been going round causing all sort of strikes in the bus industry[& not just the bus industry, BA to name a few] the last few years, annoying Ed Milliband doesn't have the guts to reign them in.:x

So Statto are you one of those people who say i aint having nothing so why should anybody else? So in your opinion all the blame lays at the door of Unite? None at the doors of Tfl who have shirked the blame on someone else. None at the door of the respected bus companies who refused to discuss anything to resolve the issue?

Blackmailing is a very emotive word which unless proven can get people in trouble care to change the word?

So you know for sure that these staff are just doing there normal day to day with no change whatsoever in their terms and conditions of employment? If so i would like to proof that you know for certain that they are only doing their normal job.

Also i would like to see the evidence of Unite causing all sorts of trouble in the bus industry. Otherwise you are making a slanderous allegation if not proven.

Do i sense that you have a personal grievance against the Unite union? Normally this kind of diatribe is reserved for the RMT.
 

Clip

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Ok then 313103 - what changes to your rosters and working hours are being implemented on the bus companies staff for the Olympics.

As far as I and probably others can see - both in the media and the nice big ad Unite took out in the metro the other day is that you are only going to be carrying extra pasasengers. If your Unite advert doesnt mention alterations to working patterns then all we who dont work in your industry can go by is that you will be carring more people.
 

313103

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Well Clip i am not a member of Unite and not a bus worker either so i cant tell you what if any changes there are.
 

Clip

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Apologies then, the way I read your post (and your cunning use of an avatar ) led me to believe that you were :)
 

313103

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Apologies then, the way I read your post (and your cunning use of an avatar ) led me to believe that you were :)

No problem, I use the Routemaster as my avatar as its what i like most.
 
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If the bonus is split into weekly bonus' to run through the olympics and para-lympics, but you are not allowed the bonus for that week if you are off sick or on leave then £500 is a reasonable request.
 

anthony263

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I certainly agree Yorkshirerider especially in my opinion the bus drivers in London will be the ones under the most stress during the olympics (If you consider road closures, extra traffic & passengers etc).

That said if some drivers ares still not happy and want to strike during the olympics there are a lot in other parts of the UK who will come and drive buses in London as long as someone else pays for our hotel :D
 

cainebj

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I think the main issue, on the bus companies side, as already highlighted in the press, is the TfL bus services aren't really affected. No extra TfL bus services will run, and no extra vehicles are being deployed on to the TfL services, so the drivers on TfL services will only be working to normal working day rota's. Extra tube, DLR and rail services are going to be added (supposedly), with those workers being under increased work pressure, hence the bonus being paid to them for being asked to work longer shifts, or more shifts, over the Olympics period.

The bus services side of everything is being dealt in a separate contract, with "First Games Transport", using non-TfL drivers, for the spectators.

The way I see it, the staff in McDonalds in Central London won't be getting paid a bonus for the potential thousands of extra customers, so why should unaffected bus service drivers be paid a bonus?
 

notadriver

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Tfl bus staff tell me their strike was not just about their lack of Olympic bonus but about pay and conditions. In particular many see their job as being harder than a tube or train driver and want similar pay and conditions to them.
Is this realistic ?
 

anthony263

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Bus driving is a hard job but I am not sure if I would say its harder than a train driver (never driven a train thats why).

That said it has its fair share of stressful times and incidents such as if you hit a vehicle or heavens forbid a person.
 

Clip

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Tfl bus staff tell me their strike was not just about their lack of Olympic bonus but about pay and conditions. In particular many see their job as being harder than a tube or train driver and want similar pay and conditions to them.
Is this realistic ?

Well if that was the case they and their Unite leaders said nothing about it in the press and their lovely full page adverts.All anyone knew was about an Olympic bonus and thats it.
 

philjo

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I was travelling out of Waterloo on Friday morning.

I usually use the 59 bus from KX to Waterloo but used Thameslink & walked along the riverside path from Blackfriars. During the time I waled fro Blackfriars to the National theatre area I only saw 1 bus cross over Waterloo bridge - there are usually loads.
There was a huge queue of people waiting at the bus stops at Waterloo.
 

Deerfold

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My dear friend in New York did you not see that i mention that the last time London Buses were on strike was when i was 18..................... Exactly 30 YES 30 years ago!

So i will say with a bit of British humor is that YES It is you!

There have been plenty of bus strikes in London in the last 30 years. this is just the first in that time to be coordinated across the operators.

I think the main issue, on the bus companies side, as already highlighted in the press, is the TfL bus services aren't really affected. No extra TfL bus services will run, and no extra vehicles are being deployed on to the TfL services, so the drivers on TfL services will only be working to normal working day rota's. Extra tube, DLR and rail services are going to be added (supposedly), with those workers being under increased work pressure, hence the bonus being paid to them for being asked to work longer shifts, or more shifts, over the Olympics period.

There will be about 200 extra buses running on TfL services over the Olympic Period on top of the usual 8000 or so.

Buses are expected to be substantially busier, with extra evening and night services running around the Olympic areas.

Surely if there were no extra buses you'd expect drivers to be busier as there will be more passengers per bus?
 
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Clip

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Surely if there were no extra buses you'd expect drivers to be busier as there will be more passengers per bus?

Out of interest how would the driver be busier? He is still just stopping and starting his bus at normal bus stops. Most people travelling would already have an oyster or paper travelcard as I dont forsee many people paying to board a bus as there are not many who do so now so how would the driver be busier?
 

Deerfold

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Out of interest how would the driver be busier? He is still just stopping and starting his bus at normal bus stops. Most people travelling would already have an oyster or paper travelcard as I dont forsee many people paying to board a bus as there are not many who do so now so how would the driver be busier?

Currently about 2% of payments are cash fares on the bus. This is skewed quite heavily to tourists so might be expected to increase. Tourists are also far more likely to ask the driver where he's going/ if he goes past X etc. I suspect a mall proportion of tourists go to Stratford now (not that one, anyway).

On the other hand, a bus driver in Uxbridge probably won't see much change over the Olympics - but then that's the same with LUL station staff.
 

BestWestern

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Sigh! The Olympic farce continues... :roll: We have had some differences of opinion in the past Clip, but I'm happy to join you on this one and say that I agree entirely!

As if it hasn't already cost us an utterly obscene amount of public money to host the damned event in the first place, we now seem to have anybody who works within 600 miles of London demanding extra wads of cash just for getting out of bed and going to work for a couple of weeks! I understand that things are going to get very busy, but is that really such an unknown thing in London of all places?! The Tube is frighteningly crowded twice a day five days a week, and I somehow doubt that the vast majority of bus routes are really going to notice much difference to be brutally honest. If all of this is going to be such a strain perhaps some of these guys need to come out and work a few football trains once in a while and find some real difficult crowds!

I say this as a Guard and a former bus driver, I really feel the Unions have simply spied an opportunity to take the rise out of the employers here; after all, they'd likely agree anything to avoid a very high profile strike during the 'Games. Sadly what these Unions sometimes still seem worryingly blind to is the importance of public support - particularly if the anticipated McNulty fight takes place. If we want the people to back us up in our calls to keep the transport networks staffed, it really would help a great deal if they didn't see us all as overpaid greedy sods! :|
 
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scotsman

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From what I can tell, it's a two-way thing.

Employers have asked employees to cancel leave, work additional shifts, longer hours and generally have poorer conditions for the duration of the games. Unions have then asked for recompense for their members in return for these conditions, although most media outlets refer to them (incorrectly, IMO) as bonuses.

Not all employers have offered this compensation, expecting their employees to work to conditions I have described without extra pay, and in some cases, no overtime pay - the bare legal minimum.

Unite's line during the dispute was a double edged sword - essentially, "They've got it, why can't we?" citing numerous examples. On the plus side, it shows the unfairness and greed of the employers. While, on the other hand, it also smacks of jealousy, easily construed as greed.


That said, I do think the public just expect the public transport system to operate faultlessly whenever they expect to use it, with little thought for those who work on it.
 
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