Coronavirus Implications For London's Transport

Made a couple of train journeys this week. Certainly more people travelling which is not surprising given the advice is now stay local. The Police interpretation of this is where you can go there and back in the day.

Most people were wearing masks over their nose and mouth.

Interview with Andy Byford in the Evening Standard


www.standard.co.uk/news/london/night-tube-out-of-service-2022-tfl-london-lockdown-b928698.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1617960573

I don't think anyone wants to be the "the Mayor who got rid of Night Tube" considering how Ken was labelled "the Mayor who got rid of the Routemaster".

At the Night Tube meeting last week ASLEF put forward a proposal that Night Tube duties should be incorporated into the full time roster, that drivers working those shifts should be paid 50% extra for the hours worked outside the current agreed parameters and that any of the part-timers that wanted to go full time can do so while those that want to stick to part time "will be accommodated using reasonable adjustments to allow them to retain employment". We've not heard what management thought of it but if I hear anything I'll pass it on.


On the subject of Routemasters it seems that TfL have quietly killed off Heritage route 15. In 2019 they cut the service from daily to weekends and Bank Holidays March - September but it didn't run last year due to Covid and they didn't renew the contract with Stagecoach. Apparently passenger numbers had been falling and it was costing £11 per passenger to operate, with money tight at TfL is was regarded as an unnecessary expense. Bit of a shame.

I take this will be around 21 June , when step 4 of the road map is due to take place.

They will be offered full time roles
All night tube drivers will be full train operators or day weekends drivers on 16th of may unless they want to stay as thetly are

Back in 2015 management wanted Night Tube to be part of the "full-time roster", in July that year they offered a £500 bonus to all grades working on Night Tube lines plus Train Operators got a £200 bonus for every NT shift worked during the transition period which would have been a year or there abouts.  If the unions had accepted that deal Night Tube would have started in September 2015 and we'd have been working Night Tube at the standard rate for the last five years.

Instead they hired the part timers who will now have the opportunity to go full time and we'll be getting the equivalent of 3 days pay for working two night shifts.  According to the proposal the Night Tube shifts will be roughly every 12 weeks on the roster but obviously those who don't want to work them are concerned that they won't be able to swap them through the Mafias, etc.  ASLEF support the proposals but RMT wouldn't even attend the last Trains Functional Council meeting or provide any feedback from the proposals so the issue is being escalated to Company Council.

Rumours that the reduced peak time service on W&C will have 14 duties, down from the current 20 so some of the Drain regulars are moaning that there won't be enough to go around and they'll have to do more work on the Main!

The horror, the horror...

Page 5 of the Proposal says "The allocation of night tube duties at depots that have fixed shift links will be discussed by the level one committee." As none of this will come into effect until next year at the earliest that gives management and unions (well, ASLEF) plenty of time to sort out the details

Under the current TO21 framework agreement driving trains in passenger service between 01:30 and 04:30 is not actually part of our job unless it's a "Special event" like New Year's Eve, its voluntary and we get paid double.

RMT's problem is they represent all grades, if they agreed to additional payments for train drivers then station staff, etc. will ask why they aren't getting additional payments.


ASLEF only represents train drivers so station staff, etc. isn't an issue

The whole thing has been instigated by TfL, they are desperately short of drivers and are under pressure from the government/Mayor of London to recover from Covid as soon as possible.  The quickest way to do that is to convert as many TO23s into TO21s as possible, cutting out the recruitment and training stages.

ASLEF never wanted part-time drivers but they wouldn't agree to us doing Night Tube without additional payments after the "transition period".  The part timers were management's idea when ASLEF wouldn't accept their original offer.

ASLEF represent the majority of train ops, RMT just rubber stamp whatever ASLEF agrees and then says they we forced to accept it as the smaller union

Hmm.....ok.

The way it’s been painted in our neck of the woods it was all ASLEF’s idea and we should be grateful for what they’ve achieved. All I keep seeing on our local Union WhatsApp group is “why wasn’t we consulted before ASLEF came to an agreement on our behalf over an issue we weren’t aware was being discussed?”.

The general feeling seems to be that ASLEF has misjudged the true feelings of its members and has agreed to something we don’t actually support.

I hope the extra money for rejigged night tube service is enough to tempt some of our drivers into doing them. We used to have nights, but they never ran trains after 1 am or before 4.30 am.
I certainly am not looking forward to this.

The problem with the TO23 grade is that very few of them want to stay TO23s, the majority only take the job as a stepping stone to TO21 after their initial period (6 months, a year, can't remember) so there is a constant turnover which must create a lot of extra admin. With a shortage of TO21s and political pressure from above its fairly understandable why management would want to scrap the TO23 grade and have as many as possible convert to TO21s. Ideally they'd scrap Night Tube too but once again that would be politically damaging for the Mayor, etc. so isn't an option.

Management want it, the TO23s want it and as PiccNT noted earlier RMTs opposition to the proposal is resulting in some members leaving so ASLEF are happy as they're getting more members (unless TO21s start going to RMT)

BBC's transport correspondent Tom Edwards on Twitter saying that the Waterloo and City will reopen 21 June, I don't book on until 16:45 so I will check then

Addendum: There was nothing when I went into work but its been confirmed by various sources.

WTT7 had 26 duties Monday-Friday, 21 running turns and five spares but we are told that the peak service will only need 14 duties so there's going to be a lot of unhappy Drainites.  Leytonstone could look like "The Hunger Games".