Tube strikes - 4 and 6 October

Whereabouts are you staying?
From past experiences, shows go ahead and everything open as normal.

If you're staying in a central location, you should be absolutely fine. Anything that's not a walkable distance will probably be served by a bus route and buses still run during strikes. Just expect them to be busier!

You should download an app like Citymapper as that will show you the best way to get where you need to go with services that are running.

Guess who has tix for Uncle Vanya on Wednesday afternoon? I know, buses do exist but an hour an half on a bus with the walks between and it will be crowded…any suggestions?

Oh, I don’t know, maybe because by the time the stupid strike was announced all the hotels anywhere near were three times the original price? Or maybe because it’s impossible to both stay closer to work AND closer to Kings Cross to get home? Take your pick since you seem require a reason. Or make one up, whatever.

I don’t really care what you think of my refusal to get on an overcrowded, dirty, potentially virus ridden bus on a day when it’s likely to be like being a sardine in a can. If you have no insight to offer into the taxi situation, your opinion isn’t needed.

And the limit on numbers is higher than I’m willing to put up with. I don’t get on packed tube trains either. But thank you for at least attempting to address my question.

If I'm reading that correctly, your walking time to reach the last train at Kings Cross would be around 88 minutes and understandably not feasible.

It's impossible to predict in any given strike day how the tube strikes will affect taxi/Uber demand. Weather is a big factor too. It's possible there may be fewer people around generally, but it's also possible that demand will rocket and that you may have to wait too long for a cab, missing your train. As to whether roads will be more jammed than usual, I think that hasn't been the case previously overall but there were reports of additional localised congestion.

Your options, other than taking a risk with a taxi, would seem to be:

- Cancel your plans
- Reschedule for another day
- Try to pre-book a minicab
- Book a further hotel night (which could be outside London if there is a later train from Kings Cross to an intermediate station)
- Set aside your aversion to buses as a one-off (- An uncrowded tube carriage during the underground sections, with no guarantee it will be uncrowded of course, is, I suspect, risking a degree of pollution and unhygienic air that is worse than what you are likely to encounter on a bus that opens its doors to fresh air every couple of minutes. You could stand by the rear doors if that helped?)

Are you familiar with the app FreeNow? You can order black cabs on it and they have a mini cab service that’s a bit like Uber for when the black cabs are busy. You can also prebook black cabs - which can get a bit spendy - but it might be what you need this week

It’s increasingly hard to flag a cab on non-strike days. There are fewer drivers post-Covid and a lot of them just pick up using the Apps. You will increasingly see cabs with their lights on who do not stop. This is because they have picked up a passenger in an App.

Usually the main line stations with cab ranks are a good bet, but the lines can be insane on tube strike days.