How much do striking Tube staff earn?

Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) is planning to continue its walkout on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, having already downed tools on Monday and Tuesday.

The union has been striking over pay and working conditions, with Transport for London having said it is unable to meet demands over a cut in the working week.

Read also: Tube strike continues to cause travel misery in London

Read also: Tube strikes bring London to a standstill as commuters face a fresh day of travel chaos

Nick Dent, London Underground's director of customer operations, said workers had been offered a 3.4 per cent pay rise and demands for a cut in the 35-hour week were "simply unaffordable".

Here are some of the key questions answered.

Which lines are not running?

Little to no London Underground services are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, while the Docklands Light Railway is set to run on Wednesday but not Thursday.

The Elizabeth line, Trams, London Overground, and London Buses will run throughout, although the latter will be somewhat disrupted on Friday.

The Tube lines affected are:

• Bakerloo,
• Central,
• Circle,
• District,
• Hammersmith & City,
• Jubilee,
• Metropolitan,
• Northern,
• Piccadilly,
• Victoria,
• Waterloo & City

How much are buses? Is the Elizabeth line more expensive than the Tube?

Buses are cheaper than Tubes with adults paying a flat £1.75 rate per journey, with a daily cap of £5.25 and a weekly limit of £24.70.

The Elizabeth line and the Tube operate the same fares, which are proportional depending on which zone you travel through. Staying just in Zone 3, for example, will see you pay one rate, but going into Zone 1 will see you pay incrementally more.

There are also quirks of the system, designed to incentivise travellers to avoid the city centre.

If you were to travel, for example, from Walthamstow Central to Brixton, crossing Zone 1, the fare would be the same as if you were to go only as far as central London. However, if you were to make the same journey but avoid central London, you would pay a cheaper fare.

Transport for London also has a daily fare limit. There is a £10.50 cap for Zones 1 to 3, meaning that for most of the Tube network you will not pay more than that for a single day’s travel.

That cap is proportionally higher for further out zones, until Zone 9, which is £23.50. If one were to hypothetically travel to and from Amersham and Bond Street all day, that is the maximum it would be possible to pay.

How much do Tube drivers earn?

Salaries for fully qualified Transport for London drivers start at around £71,000, according to the Independent, which is a greater amount than staff in France and Japan are paid.

While this salary is matched only by workers in Denmark, the union has hit out at the loss of staff since the pandemic, leading to its members working more extreme shifts with 4am starts and 1am finishes.

“The RMT’s claim that fatigue is being driven by 2,000 fewer people on London Underground is completely untrue,” TfL has responded.

“The actual reduction in LU roles is just over 200 compared to March 2019 and that is more than made up for by new roles elsewhere - for example, on the Elizabeth line.

“So, there are actually more, not fewer, staff working on TfL services than before the pandemic.”

When will the Coldplay tickets be rescheduled for and can I have my money back?

Having asked in concert for RMT to change its mind, Coldplay admitted defeat and rescheduled the Wembley shows that were set for September 7 and 8.

The band confirmed the show on September 7 would move to September 6 and the show on September 8 would move to September 12.

Coldplay said tickets would remain valid for their rescheduled date, but any fans who are unable to attend their rescheduled show can get a full refund on their ticket from their point of purchase before midday on Tuesday, September 2.