LiveDrive survival guide for commuters during the bus strikes.

Tomorrow is the first day of an expected six Dublin Bus strike days in September. Inevitably this is going to mean extra traffic on the roads and thus extra delays. If you're looking to avoid the worst of it, here are a few tips to make the next few days as painless as possible

1) Car sharing is always an efficient, cost effective and fun way to travel. If you live near any of your work colleagues, why not relish the opportunity to spend even more time with them by arranging a car pool? You can sing songs, share life experiences and learn new things about each other. Alternatively, if you don't have any colleagues/friends, you can always find some at www.carsharing.ie.

2) Plan your journey in advance, and leave plenty of extra time. There's going to be a lot of extra cars on the roads tomorrow so it's worth working out in advance what route you're going and whether there are any potential alternative, less popular ways of getting there. Plan to leave early to be safe. Best case scenario you arrive in work early and get some sort of certificate at the Christmas party.

3) Enjoy the last of the Summer weather by walking (for shorter distances) or cycling. It's environmentally friendly, healthy and you get the satisfaction of sailing past traffic jams. Plus a bracing walk is the perfect excuse to catch up on that podcast your mates have been telling you to tune into for ages. They're right by the way, it will change your life.

4) Bear in mind that Bus Lanes remain in operation. This is official policy during every industrial action of this kind and is so that the lanes can remain in use by other bus companies, emergency service vehicles, taxis and cyclists. If you're not one of those things, stay out of the bus lanes!

5) Check the traffic before you leave. We say it again and again but the best way to avoid traffic is to anticipate it. On LiveDrive, We broadcast between 7-10am and 4-7pm and we'll be posting regular updates on our twitter account @LiveDrive as well between those times. But you knew that already, didn't you?

More strikes are currently due to take place next week on Thursday and Friday (15th & 16th), and the following week on Friday and Saturday (23rd & 24th).