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Traveling in London during tube strike

Posted by on

So, I'm seeing information on the tube strike, which will be happening on the 2 days we'll be there. We were planning to turn the rental car in and take the tube upon arrival, but it sounds like that might not be very reliable during the strike, if possible at all.

Is there a recommendation for parking the car somewhere close enough to the city that we could walk/bike/scooter/etc. without having to rely on the underground?

We are total newbies and taking a chance by planning everything ourselves so we are able to be flexible with where we're going within London and timetables, just don't want to be stuck on transport all day when we've got limited time in the city. Any ideas?

ETA: We're dropping the car at Heathrow and staying way out in Horsham because our flight out is at Gatwick. We'll be there the 13th and 14th, flying out the 15th. It looks like overtime is all that's cancelled those days but since we've never been, I have no concept of how that will disrupt things. It sounds like the bus or walking will be our go-to until we can find an area that has scooters or the like in the event that the underground isn't running. Thank you all!!

Posted by
33708 posts

trains will be running, albeit likely very busy.

Parking within walking or scooter distance will require divine intervention and likely payment of the Congestion Charge.

Posted by
33708 posts

buses will also be running, although also busy

Posted by
33708 posts

which 2 days? Not all days will be the same

Posted by
141 posts

Nigel is spot on. :-)

And a quick note from me, the Bus Queen of West London: take the bus! You can sightsee as you journey, so even if the trip is longer, it is not wasted time. And the bus is cheap as chips! Plus, you might even strike up a friendship with a Londoner: the bus is much more social than the tube.

Posted by
152 posts

Driving in central London is a nightmare, finding parking even more so. Ditch the hire car.

You don’t say where you are staying but London is, in effect, 2 walkable cities a bus ride apart. Plan to visit places in the City of London (in the east) on one day and Westminster on the other. Get a bus (or taxi or Uber) to each day’s location and move around on foot.

My guess is a lot of people will work from home, so buses will be busy but hopefully there’ll still be a bit of room, especially outside rush hours.

Posted by
7098 posts

Drop the car where you had planned and get into town the best way possible. A few years ago we were staying at a hotel by the Gloucester Rd. tube station when there was a strike. The roads were a parking lot. We attempted to take a bus, but it moved so slowly due to the traffic that we just got out and walked. It was quicker. Believe we walked 12 miles that day. It wouldn’t have been too bad had our hotel been closer in to the main tourist areas.

Posted by
14 posts

I just read something saying that the Elizabeth line isn't actually part of the Tube network, so it won't be affected by the strike. Is this true? I need to travel from Goodge St to Heathrow on the morning of November 12, and taking the Elizabeth would be ideal. Any concerns I should be aware of? Thanks!

Posted by
7653 posts

It is true that the Elizabeth Line is not a tube line so will be unaffected. However on days when station staff are not working, stations which are shared tube/Elizabeth line may have to close with trains non stopping.
Such as Tottenham Court Road.
That may happen on the day at little or no notice, if rostered staff just absent themselves.
As of tonight the negotiations appear to be going nowhere.
12 November is a drivers strike, not station staff so the Elizabeth Line should run calling all stations, but be very busy.
You will have to walk to TCR.

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