Bus passengers have been warned to expect “little to no service” on a number of routes in London due to a pay strike by 350 drivers and other staff.
Seven routes are affected – the 13, 23, 31, N31, 218, 295 and 452. These cover parts of west, north west and south west London.
The buses are operated for Transport for London by London Transit, a subsidiary of First Bus, out of Westbourne Park garage.
A 24-hour walkout began at 5am on Friday and will last until 5am on Saturday.
This will be followed by a 48-hour strike from 5am on Monday (November 17) and a 72-hour strike the following week, beginning at 5am on Wednesday November 26 and running until early on Saturday November 29.
TfL said: “There is likely to be little to no service on affected routes.”
The strike involves members of the Unite union. It said the walkout was the result of an escalation of the dispute between staff and management after a “below inflation” pay offer was made.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "This is disgraceful behaviour from a company making millions from London bus passengers. It shows an utter disregard for its workers and the hard work they do day in, day out.
"Our members won't stand for such behaviour and Unite will back them all the way in this dispute with a company that has a history of anti-worker behaviour."
But First Bus said the offer was for an above inflation increase plus back pay.
A spokesperson for First Bus London said: “We are disappointed that talks with Unite have broken down despite our continued efforts to reach a fair and reasonable agreement, including an above-inflation pay offer with full back pay for all employees.
“We urge Unite to re-engage in meaningful discussions so we can reach a resolution and end the ongoing disruption, which causes inconvenience for passengers and loss of earnings for our employees.
“We expect there to be little or no service on the affected routes, and we’re sorry for any disruption this may cause to people’s journeys.
“There will still be alternative travel options, but other routes may be busier than normal.”
According to Unite, more than 350 workers at London Transit have rejected the pay offer. They have already walked out for four days earlier this year.
The dispute previously also involved staff at sister firm London United. In September, a planned strike that was expected to disrupt a number of routes across the capital operated by London United was largely called off.
First Bus bought the company earlier this year from RATP.
There are about 700 bus routes across London. About five million journeys a day are made on London buses.
A TfL spokesperson said: “Strike action is expected to impact seven bus routes, however, the vast majority of London's bus network will still operate as planned on these days. Some local bus routes may be busier than normal.
“We encourage customers who are affected to plan ahead, allow extra time for their journeys and check before they travel using our website or the TfL Go app. We encourage both parties to find a solution to this dispute and we're sorry for any disruption to people's journeys.”
