London Tube Strike: What the Second Day of Chaos Really Means for Drivers

The RMT's continued industrial action is doing more than disrupting commutes — it's exposing serious legal grey areas and practical risks for every driver forced onto London's roads.

There's a particular kind of desperation that grips a city when its underground network grinds to a halt. On day one of a Tube strike, Londoners improvise. They cycle, they walk, they squeeze onto replacement buses. By day two, however, the cracks really start to show. Roads that were already at capacity buckle under the weight of tens of thousands of additional journeys. Tempers fray. And for drivers navigating streets they might rarely use, the risk of picking up a Penalty Charge Notice — or something far worse — rises sharply.

The RMT's ongoing industrial action, which entered its second day on 3 June 2026, has once again turned London's road network into something resembling a very slow-moving car park. But beyond the headline inconvenience, there are real legal and financial risks that drivers need to understand — and that most coverage simply isn't addressing.

What Happened: The Second Day of Strike Disruption

According to reporting by The Guardian, the RMT's industrial action continued into a second consecutive day, with major lines severely affected and knock-on disruption rippling across the capital's entire transport network. Replacement bus services were overwhelmed almost immediately, and TfL's own travel advice urged Londoners to work from home where possible.

The dispute centres on long-running tensions between RMT members and Transport for London over pay, conditions, and job security — themes that have defined London's industrial relations landscape for years. When negotiations break down and strike action is called, it isn't just workers and management who bear the consequences. It's the roughly 3.8 million daily Tube journeys that simply don't happen — and the corresponding surge of people who reach for their car keys instead.

Traffic monitoring data from previous strike periods suggests that journey times on key arterial routes into central London can increase by 40 to 90 per cent during Tube strikes. The Blackwall Tunnel, the Embankment, and key bridges over the Thames tend to become particularly severe bottlenecks. Outer London roads, meanwhile, fill with drivers attempting to reach rail interchanges or simply driving the entire route into the city.

Why It Matters: The Ripple Effect Nobody Talks About

Strike disruption on this scale doesn't just mean slower journeys. It creates a cascade of secondary effects that can have real consequences for drivers — many of whom are unfamiliar with the roads they're suddenly using.

Congestion Charge exposure increases dramatically. Drivers who rarely venture into the Congestion Charge Zone may find themselves inadvertently crossing the boundary while attempting to navigate around jams or follow unfamiliar diversions. The zone operates Monday to Friday, 07:00–18:00, and Sunday 12:00–18:00, with a daily charge currently set at £18 following the 2026 increase. There is no grace period for accidental entry, and the automatic number plate recognition cameras are unforgiving.

ULEZ compliance becomes a concern. Drivers using older vehicles who normally rely on public transport may not have checked whether their car meets Ultra Low Emission Zone standards. The ULEZ now covers all London boroughs, and non-compliant vehicles face a daily charge of £12.50. For someone who drives into London twice a year, this may never have been a consideration — until a Tube strike forces the issue.

Restricted streets and bus-gate violations spike. London's road network is riddled with restrictions that are entirely invisible to anyone who doesn't drive those routes regularly. Bus gates, pedestrian zones, and time-restricted streets generate significant numbers of PCNs at the best of times. During strike periods, when unfamiliar drivers are using unfamiliar routes, enforcement cameras capture a notable uptick in contraventions.

This isn't speculation. Freedom of Information requests submitted to various London boroughs in the aftermath of previous major Tube strikes have shown measurable increases in PCN issuance during and immediately after strike periods. Enforcement doesn't pause because the Tube isn't running.

The Legal Angle: Can You Appeal a PCN Issued During Strike Chaos?

This is where things get genuinely interesting — and where many drivers give up too early.

Under the Traffic Management Act 2004, local authorities have the power to issue PCNs for a wide range of contraventions. However, the same legislation provides a framework for challenging those notices. The key grounds for appeal include situations where the contravention did not occur, where the PCN was incorrectly issued, or — crucially — where there are compelling mitigating circumstances.

The question of whether a Tube strike constitutes a mitigating circumstance is a nuanced one. The short answer is: it depends on the contravention.

For Congestion Charge and ULEZ penalties, TfL operates its own representations process. TfL has historically shown limited appetite for accepting "I didn't know I was in the zone" as a defence, even during unusual circumstances. The responsibility for knowing whether you're entering a charging zone rests with the driver, and TfL's position is broadly that adequate signage and public information exists.

However, for bus lane and restricted street violations, there is more room to manoeuvre. If you can demonstrate that you were directed into a restriction by a temporary diversion, by GPS navigation, or by road conditions beyond your control — and if you have evidence to support this — an adjudicator at the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (for outside London) or London Tribunals (for TfL-issued PCNs) may look favourably on your appeal.

The London Tribunals service, which handles independent adjudication of PCNs issued by London boroughs and TfL, operates under a principle that adjudicators should consider all circumstances. A well-evidenced representation — including screenshots of traffic conditions, navigation app data, or confirmation that a diversion was in operation — carries genuine weight.

One important legal point: the discount period for PCNs is sacrosanct. If you receive a PCN during strike disruption, you have 14 days from the date of issue to pay at the reduced rate (typically 50% of the full penalty). Do not let the chaos of the situation cause you to miss this window while you're deciding whether to appeal. You can pay the reduced amount and still pursue a formal representation in some circumstances, but the rules are complex — always check the specific wording on the notice.

What Drivers Should Know: Practical Advice for Strike Days

If you're driving in London during Tube strike disruption — whether today, tomorrow, or during any future industrial action — these are the things that matter most:

• Check your vehicle's ULEZ compliance before you set off. TfL's online checker takes 30 seconds and could save you £12.50 per day, multiplied by however many days the strike runs.
• Know the Congestion Charge boundary. The zone covers the area broadly bounded by the Euston Road to the north, Tower Bridge Road to the east, Elephant and Castle to the south, and Park Lane to the west. If you're navigating around central London, be aware of where the boundary lies.
• Photograph everything. If you find yourself in an unusual traffic situation — following a diversion, stuck in a queue that's pushed you into a yellow box, or forced into a restricted street by a road closure — photograph the road conditions, any temporary signage, and your navigation screen. This evidence is invaluable if a PCN follows.
• Don't assume bus lanes are suspended. During previous strikes, there has been public discussion about temporarily suspending bus lane enforcement to ease congestion. In practice, this rarely happens formally, and enforcement cameras continue to operate. Do not use a bus lane unless you have confirmed it is open to general traffic.
• Allow significantly more time. This sounds obvious, but the legal implication is real: if you're late for a time-sensitive appointment and rush through a restriction, the strike is not a defence. Plan for journey times to be double or triple normal duration.
• Consider park-and-ride or outer zone options. Driving to a station outside the disruption zone and taking a train or bus from there is often far more efficient than attempting to drive into central London. It also keeps you well clear of charging zones.

Looking Ahead: Structural Vulnerabilities and What Needs to Change

The deeper issue that events like this expose is the fragility of London's transport resilience. The capital has invested heavily in its underground network — and rightly so — but that investment has created a dependency that becomes acutely visible the moment industrial action is called.

For drivers, the recurring nature of Tube strikes means this is not a one-off event to be managed and forgotten. The RMT has demonstrated repeatedly that it is willing to use strike action as a negotiating tool, and there is no immediate sign that the structural tensions between TfL's financial pressures and workers' pay expectations are about to be resolved.

What this means practically is that London's road network will continue to face periodic episodes of extreme overcrowding driven by Tube disruption. The enforcement infrastructure — cameras, ANPR systems, PCN processing — does not switch off during those episodes. If anything, the volume of potential contraventions increases.

There is a reasonable argument to be made that TfL and London boroughs should publish clear, proactive guidance during strike periods about how enforcement will be handled — whether any grace will be extended for first-time contraventions in unfamiliar areas, and whether the representations process will be adjusted to account for unusual circumstances. To date, that kind of proactive communication has been largely absent.

Until it arrives, the burden falls on individual drivers to protect themselves. Know the rules, document your journey, and don't assume that chaos on the Tube translates to any flexibility in how the roads are policed.

Source: The Guardian, 3 June 2026