Closing summary: Weekend of travel disruption ahead
There is a weekend of transport strike action ahead, with the tube, overground and some buses closed for the rest of the day in London, and another national rail strike due to start tomorrow morning.
Here is a handy reminder from Transport for London of what services are likely to be affected when – note the national rail strikes due for Saturday as well.
Strikes will affect your journey until 21 Augusthttps://t.co/SAKT5TLuK5
— Transport for London (@TfL) August 19, 2022
❌ No service / severe disruption - avoid travel
⚠ Reduced / irregular service - check before you travel / allow more time for your journey * planned closures
✅ Check before you travel pic.twitter.com/nFRfHzIJ5p
And here is why workers strike: Unite, one of the UK’s largest unions, has on Friday announced two pay rises for transport workers.
Bus drivers employed by Stagecoach working from depots in Aldershot and Guildford have agreed substantial pay increases following negotiations. And a strike at bus company Arriva North West has ended after 29 days after workers voted in favour of a pay deal.
The drivers at the Aldershot bus depot will receive a 13 per cent pay increase while those at the Guildford depot will receive 12.57 per cent. The deal covers a total of 170 members of Unite, the union said. That is more than the 10.1% inflation rate, and means that workers may not lose out, this year at least.
At Arriva North West, 2,000 members across 11 Merseyside garages have voted overwhelmingly (by nearly 10 to one) to accept an 11.1% offer. That will be worth an additional average of £2,300 on the workers’ salaries, equal to an extra £55 per week, Unite said. The workers had rejected a previous offer of a 9.6% annual increase.
You can continue to follow our live coverage from around the world:
In our UK politics coverage, Liz Truss is criticised for doctors’ pay comments as Labour urges Tories to recall parliament on bills crisis
In the Russia-Ukraine war, the UN’s secretary general has urged Moscow not to take nuclear power plant off the grid amid concern over reactor safety
In the US, Americans should focus on Biden’s accomplishments, says his chief of staff
Thank you as ever for following our live coverage today. Please do join us on Monday morning for more. JJ
UK government announces £130m of bus funding in latest bailout
The UK’s transport department has announced £130m of funding for England’s bus network to make up for shortfalls in revenues caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The cash will help to cover six months of operations by the private companies who run England’s buses from October 2022 to March 2023, the government said.
Bus companies – like other parts of the UK’s struggling public transport industry – have been fighting to attract customers back to their routes after passenger numbers slumped during the coronavirus lockdowns.
The government gave bus providers their first bailout (worth £400m) in April 2020 in order to protect routes while passenger numbers were down. Since then the value of funding made available to 160 companies has reached £2bn, the government said on Friday.
Grant Shapps, the transport secretary who has had a busy day, said:
At a time when people are worried about rising costs, it’s more important than ever we save these bus routes for the millions who rely on them for work, school and shopping.
The Confederation of Passenger Transport, a lobby group for the bus and coach industry, perhaps unsurprisingly welcomed the money. A CPT spokesperson said:
Today’s announcement will help bus operators and local authority partners to balance a network of reliable and affordable services in the short-term as bus networks adapt to new travel patterns.
For the longer-term, we will continue to work closely with central government and local authorities to encourage existing and new passengers to get on board the country’s buses, ensuring they are provided the best possible services.
