Thousands of north Londoners could see their travel plans disrupted next week if 4,000 union members go ahead with a planned 48-hour strike.

Unite has called for the walk out from May 25-26, which will also be followed by a 72-hour strike from June 7-9, with more than 100 routes set to be affected.

It is all to protest bus company Metroline’s system of ‘remote signing on’, which could see drivers start and finish their shifts in various locations on a route - but only get paid for their time on a bus.

But Metroline – whose two subsidiaries Metroline Travel and Metroline West run 105 routes between Islington and Hillingdon – said it has already ‘halted’ the rollout.

A bus driver of 20 years, who did not wish to be named, said: “At the moment we go to the bus garage and that’s where I start my shift. But under remote sign-on I could start at a different bus stop every day.

“It means more travelling. And it would extend our days by a long time and mean using more public transport or not having anywhere to park.

“And travelling late at night to different locations would be much less safe, especially for female drivers.”

He added: “All of these changes are really sad, it feels like we’re being exploited after a really hard year. I can’t see myself staying in this industry for much longer.”

Metroline said: “On May 11, Unite gave notice of its intention for industrial action unless we ‘halt [the] implementation of remote sign on.’

“We can confirm, as requested, we have halted the implementation of remote sign on and now question why Unite is continuing to pursue industrial action and cause unnecessary disruption to the traveling public.”

Mary Summers, of Unite, said: “We are sorry for the disruption to the travelling public that the 48-hour and 72-hour strikes will cause, however, we firmly believe that the health and safety of our members must be our paramount consideration.”

Routes that could be affected are the:
4, 6, 7, N7, 16, N16, 17, 30, 32, 43, 46, 52, 90, 91, N91, 98, N98, 107, 112, 113, N113, 117, 125, 134, 139, 140, N140, 143, 168, 182, 186, 189, 190, 204, 210, 222, 231, 234, 235, 237, 240, 245, 260, 263, 268, 271, 274, 292, 297, 302, 306, 307, 316, 317, 324, 328, 332, 382, 384, 390, 393, 460, 491, 533, 606, 611, 631, 632, 634, 643, C11, E2, E6, E8, H2, H3, H13, N20, W7, W8, X140, 31, N31, 81, 83, N83, 92, 95, 114, 120, 187, 206, 226, 282, 295, 331, 483, 487, 607, A10, U1, U2, U3, U4, U10