UPDATED Putney residents face fresh travel misery as bus workers prepare to strike on Friday 29 August and Monday 1 September, in a dispute that threatens to bring chaos to the start of the new school term.
The industrial action, organised by Unite the Union, will target key routes serving the area just as pupils return to classrooms following the summer break.
The timing could hardly be worse for Putney, an area already plagued by what residents describe as some of London’s most unreliable bus services. The strikes will hit multiple routes that thousands of local commuters and families depend on daily, including the 85 bus connecting Putney Bridge to Kingston.
They will also severely impact several crucial Putney services, according to the route list provided by First Bus subsidiaries London United and London Transit. Those affected include:
- Route 85 (Kingston – Putney Bridge): A lifeline for residents travelling between Putney and South West London
- Route 220 (Willesden Junction – Wandsworth): Connecting Putney to North London
- Route 419 (Richmond – Roehampton): Serving the Roehampton area from Hounslow garage
- Night services N33 (Fulwell – Hammersmith) and N72 (Roehampton – East Acton): Crucial for late-night travel
The strikes will also affect the K3 route (Roehampton Vale Asda – Esher High Street) and K5 (Ham – Morden), both serving the broader Putney area.
A Community Already at Breaking Point
The timing of these strikes comes as a particular blow to Putney, where buses are already “crawling — or not showing up at all,” according to recent reports. Three of London’s five worst-rated bus routes — the 14, 265 and 93 — serve Putney, with the 14 running from Putney Heath to Russell Square being the second most complained-about route in London last year, averaging just 5.3mph during rush hour.
The 265, dubbed the “ghost bus” by frustrated passengers, and the 93 to North Cheam were not far behind in complaint statistics. Between them, these routes attracted over 1,000 formal complaints in the past year alone, with complaints about bus services across Putney rising 63% in three years.
Local residents have grown accustomed to buses vanishing from live trackers, skipping stops, or terminating mid-route without warning — problems that official Transport for London performance data often fails to capture.
The Dispute Behind the Disruption
The strikes stem from a bitter pay dispute between bus workers and First Bus, which acquired London United and London Transit from French company RATP earlier this year. Unite claims the company’s refusal to fully backdate a new pay offer to the agreed anniversary date in December would leave drivers “hundreds of pounds short in back pay.”
Additional grievances include attempts to alter pay anniversary dates and the removal of shift work premiums for some staff. The union argues that some workers could lose up to £2,500 in back pay due to the company’s stance.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has described the employer’s actions as “underhand and disgraceful,” while regional officer Callum Rochford stated that “workers can see through these tactics and won’t stand for them.”
Originally, Unite had threatened to stage strike action during the Notting Hill Carnival weekend, which runs from August 23 to 25. However, the union has since rowed back on that plan, opting instead to target the start of the school term to minimise disruption to the major cultural event.
This strategic shift means maximum impact on families with school-age children, particularly in Putney where many rely on the affected bus routes for the school run.
First Bus response
A spokesperson for First Bus London said of the news: “We are disappointed at the ballot result and the decision to proceed with industrial action. Strikes will cause inconvenience to the public and loss of earnings for our hard-working employees.
“Our above inflation pay offer reflects the value we put on colleagues and demonstrates our commitment to protecting staff from the rising cost of living — even in the challenging financial environment we operate in.
“We have further scheduled discussions with Unite later this week, and we very much hope that together we can reach a fair resolution for our colleagues and the Londoners we serve.”
