Sadiq Khan Faces 48-Hour Tube Strikes May Next Week
Tube strikes may leave London Underground drivers out for 48 hours next week as RMT members prepare six walkouts over 12 days. The action follows a vote over a compressed four-day working week and will come alongside separate bus disruption on one day in east London.
London mayor Sadiq Khan is dealing with a dispute that the RMT says is about fatigue and safety. The union argues the compressed schedule would leave employees more tired and create a less safe working environment.
Sadiq Khan and the RMT
The planned strike is the latest round of industrial action by London Underground drivers belonging to the RMT union. They walked out for two 24-hour periods at the end of April, and London had already been hit by tube strikes for the first time since September 2025 last month.
The new walkout is set to run for 48 hours next week. The unionised staff vote in favour of the industrial action gives the dispute a defined trigger: the proposed compressed four-day working week that the RMT says would change working patterns on the Underground.
Seven east London bus routes
Travel across the city will not stop entirely. The Overground, DLR, Elizabeth line and most buses across London are due to run as normal throughout the strike period.
One separate disruption window will hit seven bus routes from 5am on Friday May 15 until 5am Saturday May 16. The affected services are 8, N8, 25, N25, 425, 205 and N205, all on a day when east London passengers will need to plan around driver strikes as well as the Underground walkout.
London travel next week
For passengers, the practical picture is split: most rail alternatives named in the notice will keep running, while seven bus routes face a 24-hour interruption and Underground drivers are set for a 48-hour stoppage. That leaves commuters with the routes that remain open, rather than a full network shutdown.
The industrial action dates are spread across 12 days, so the disruption is not limited to a single strike day. Londoners using the Underground next week will need to check whether their journey depends on services that are still running or on the bus routes due to be affected from May 15 into May 16.
