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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Tube strike – as it happened | |
| (6 months later) | |
| 8.49pm BST20:49 | |
| Final summary | |
| Updated at 8.54pm BST | |
| 8.03pm BST20:03 | |
| Commuters are still facing long waits at bus stops and overground stations, with many choosing to walk miles home. Here are some images from across London’s congested streets: | |
| I think we need more buses #TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/oYN4HKdgcn | |
| @BBClondonnews pretty quiet at Shadwell overground! pic.twitter.com/HWud1qOeGZ | |
| Good luck getting home folks. I think I'll walk thanks #tubestrike pic.twitter.com/bE9DHMIjSa | |
| Biggest #TubeStrike in 13 years kills London traffic. Good workout for everyone today pic.twitter.com/YI60hBYKmg | |
| Updated at 8.17pm BST | |
| 7.50pm BST19:50 | |
| As Londoners continue their journeys home on foot, bus and overground, the city’s tube carriages have been left dormant. Here’s some aerial footage of tube carriages parked in sidings | |
| Updated at 7.51pm BST | |
| 6.54pm BST18:54 | |
| Looks like some of London’s (lonely) commuters are using the tube strike to try out alternative means of transport. | |
| Just spotted a man riding a tandem alone in Holloway :( #tubestrike | |
| Many of those sticking to the overground and buses are still facing long queues (here’s a view from Euston station). Not everyone is feeling sympathetic: | |
| How to deal with the #tubestrikes! pic.twitter.com/V6NKGFx4gJ | |
| 6.34pm BST18:34 | |
| Hi Rebecca Ratcliffe here. I’ll be bringing you tube strike updates for the next few hours. Here’s a screengrab from the BBC’s travel incidents page, showing congestion on many of London’s roads. If you’re stuck in traffic or still battling to get home, feel free to leave comments below the line. | |
| 6.19pm BST18:19 | |
| 6pm – tube strike summary | |
| Aisha Gani | |
| It’s past 18:00, so here’s a quick summary of how today has been: | |
| Atleast the underground has a good service on "all other lines" #tubestrike pic.twitter.com/5o9Qj7x0h4 | |
| Related: Five key apps to help you get around London during the tube strike | |
| Well that’s it from me, Aisha Gani, as I make my own journey through chaos, and I’m now handing over to my colleague Rebecca Ratcliffe. | |
| Updated at 6.20pm BST | |
| 6.00pm BST18:00 | |
| My colleague Jessica Elgot has just let me know that people are complaining that TfL buses are terminating before their destinations – crammed full of people who are then turfed out. | |
| It's not fault of strike, but if @TfL could not keep changing the destination of buses people have queued for ages for, that'd be grand, ta | |
| Consequently passengers can’t then get on other buses because they are too full. | |
| 3 full buses terminate at same stop depositing 100s of people. One bus supposedly going on waiting for change of driver who hasn't turned up | |
| Maybe one day the 252 @TfL bus service will go all the way and not terminate early. #halfajob #happenstoooften | |
| We hear you Tim: | |
| Arriving at a bus stop #tubestrikes #tflstrike @TfL pic.twitter.com/XTFR9WWDoW | |
| 5.52pm BST17:52 | |
| Home time is now upon us, and resourceful Londoners share how they are taking the strike in their stride: | |
| Commute home mapped out. Walking shoes on. Should be able to take in a few sites along the way. #TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/j75NFYgzmc | |
| Glorious day for a five-mile walk home (via various watering holes) #tubestrike pic.twitter.com/ekbKADYzBT | |
| Charlie McDonnell, a vlogger, shared this: | |
| 5.34pm BST17:34 | |
| Today’s tube strike, in which more than 20,000 workers walked off their jobs, was the largest in 13 years, but by no means the first time Londoners had to leg it to work. | |
| We’ve just published this thoroughly quaint newsreel of London tube strikes through history. | |
| Have a watch as you wait in queue: | |
| Updated at 5.42pm BST | |
| 5.27pm BST17:27 | |
| It’s been a day of picket lines, locked gates a sea of commuters walking overground. | |
| Here are some photo highlights: | |
| 5.14pm BST17:14 | |
| Aisha Gani | |
| Hello and good evening happy commuters. I’m Aisha Gani and I’ll be liveblogging tube strike updates for the next few hours. You can tweet me at @aishagani, and feel free to leave comments below the line. | |
| For the time being, it seems as though cycles for hire have doubled in some areas: | |
| Boris Bike usage doubles as #Londoners work around #tubestrikes Read more @cyclingweekly at http://t.co/apQZW3tc8p pic.twitter.com/MFxs38mwwu | |
| 3.21pm BST15:21 | |
| Despite the inconvenience, here is a voice in support of the strikers. | |
| #tubestrike is about ensuring safety of passengers on the lifeline of #london during the day & soon at night - it'd be foolish to attack it | |
| 3.16pm BST15:16 | |
| This is what’s called chutzpah. | |
| All you #nurses struggling in the #tubestrike - how about working just outside #London for more £££ & FREE PARKING! http://t.co/HAH8zuyoIJ | |
| 3.03pm BST15:03 | |
| Acas contacted by London Underground | |
| London Underground has contacted the conciliation service to help arrange fresh talks over the Tube dispute, PA reports. | |
| Acas was asked to assist to get the two sides back around the negotiating table to avoid a repeat of the 24-hour strike which ends this evening. | |
| Tube stations were closed and other forms of transport were packed, even though Transport for London put on 200 extra buses. | |
| Steve Griffiths, London Underground chief operating officer, said: “We thank Londoners for their patience today as we work hard to help them make their journeys. | |
| “We are, as we always have been, ready to talk at any time to sort out this dispute. | |
| “We have made a very fair and reasonable offer to our staff, but the unions have so far refused to respond or put it to their members. | |
| “The offer remains on the table and we are ready for talks. We have today contacted Acas and asked them to assist us in getting back around the table. | |
| “If the unions are serious about resolving this, we trust they will be ready to engage in meaningful talks to deliver night Tube for London. | |
| “We have put forward a very, very fair offer, which consists of an average salary increase of 2%, 1% or RPI (whichever is greater) for next year and the one after, plus a 500 night Tube launch bonus and an additional 2,000 bonus for night Tube train drivers. | |
| “No-one will have to work more hours than they do now, and we have a longer term plan, which will mean no-one will need to work nights if they don’t want to.” | |
| RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: ““We’ve wasted three months in negotiations that failed to address staff concerns and it’s essential for London that there’s no repeat and that puts the ball firmly in LU’s court.” | |
| TSSA leader Manuel Cortes called for peace talks to start at Acas tomorrow. | |
| He said: “No-one wants to see London at a standstill, least of all our members, so it is high time for LU to come back to the negotiating table. | |
| “They should stop playing games and start talking to us in good faith to get a sensible solution to this dispute. “We are ready and willing to be at Acas tomorrow morning to sort this out. | |
| “It is time to end the blame game and agree a solution which keeps London moving and secures the start of the night Tube in September.” | |
| 2.50pm BST14:50 | |
| Carmen Fishwick | |
| TFL said users of Boris bikes – now Santander bikes – won’t be charged for leaving undocked bicycles at ‘hubs’ across the captial, writes Carmen Fishwick. | |
| Bicycle hire was at twice the normal level this morning as Londoners looked for ways around the all-tube strike. | |
| Many users reported problems finding space at docking stations this morning forcing them to leave the bikes unattended. This would normally result in an extra charge and potentially a lost deposit, but TFL said they would waive the charges today if left at one of their hubs. | |
| A spokesman said: “people shouldn’t be leaving bikes unattended at docking stations, as the bike will still be under hire. But on days like today, we have staff at the hubs who will virtually dock bikes back in.” | |
| An extra 100 bikes will be available at hubs in the city centre where people can leave bikes if they can’t find an available docking station. Virtual docking will ramp up again between 4pm and 8pm this evening. | |
| Extra bikes, with virtual docking stations will be available at Butler Place in Victoria, Soho Square, Houghton Street, Finsbury Square in Liverpool Street, Waterloo place in St James, Stonecutter Street in Waterloo, and Belgrove Street. | |
| Bit of a problem with the Boris bikes in soho today. Nice work Santander pic.twitter.com/4yfYZ4s3XM | |
| "@ChrisGrose2: The flaw with Boris bikes on a tube strike day. pic.twitter.com/uCgeMky36O" don't get that with a #brompton @BromptonBicycle | |
| Updated at 3.46pm BST | |
| 2.36pm BST14:36 | |
| TFL puts it mildly ... | |
| Buses around Central London are experiencing serious delays due to heavy traffic | |
| 2.30pm BST14:30 | |
| Robert Booth has more on Uber tripling fares during the strike. | |
| Uber users were confronted on Thursday morning with warnings that the company was tripling fares because “demand is off the charts”. | |
| It warned of “surge pricing”, with fares 2.9 times higher than normal and with a minimum fare of £14.50. Even sitting in standing traffic would cost 43p per minute instead of the normal 15p. | |
| Uber, which connects users with private-hire drivers, has driven down the cost of minicabs in London, with regular fares as low as £1.25 per mile, but often increases charges when demand is high, such as late on weekends, when lots of people want to get home at the same time. Its 15,000 drivers in the capital target areas where “surge pricing” is in force in order to boost incomes. There have been accusations that some Uber drivers barely make the minimum wage as a result of falling fares. | |
| Steve McNamara, head of the London Taxi Drivers Association, seized on the price hikes as “yet further evidence of how a profit-motivated $50bn dollar company operates”. | |
| 2.15pm BST14:15 | |
| Those who chose to scoot to work got a mixed reaction. | |
| No problems with arriving at the office. Solution -> train + kick scooter #TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/tw1ZHcjJPk | |
| Beat the tube strike. Get up early, drive, main-line and commuter scooter. Door to door in 1hr. @TfL #wewontbebeaten pic.twitter.com/A9B1gS7p0b | |
| Seeing old men tearing up the roads on a micro scooter is what the #tubestrike is all about 😂 | |
| Saw a super smug businessman in a three piece on a razor scooter. Speeding past buses, jowels rippling in the wind. Pure joy. #tubestrike | |
| A tube strike is no justification for an adult using a push along scooter. Nothing is. | |
| 2.01pm BST14:01 | |
| The taxi app Uber has been criticised over pricing after claims that it has tripled prices in some areas during the strike. PA reports: | |
| Commuters used social media this morning to report rises as high as 200% as they sought to find alternative ways to work, with the Underground out of action. | |
| Uber said its programming means that in times of high demand for cars, prices are increased to encourage more drivers on to the roads. | |
| An Uber spokesman said: “Drivers work on the Uber platform on a completely flexible basis, as much or as little as they want. During times of peak demand - when demand massively outstrips supply - fares increase temporarily to incentivise more drivers to work on the platform. As soon as the demand drops or supply increases, the price comes back down.” | |
| The spokesman added that customers, known as “riders”, are made aware of fare increases before they book. | |
| “Dynamic pricing is fully transparent - riders are notified clearly in-app, and even have to physically type in the price, to confirm they have understood the pricing. | |
| “Riders also have the option to get a fare estimate at that price, or can press the ‘Notify me when surge drops’ button to get a message as soon as the price drops back to normal.” | |
| The car-sharing service added that it was encouraging users to split fares with friends and colleagues during the strike. | |
| 1.44pm BST13:44 | |
| The RMT’s general secretary, Mick Cash, has dismissed First Great Western’s claims to be running a 60% service as “pure fiction”. | |
| He said: | |
| The company have been forced into wholesale shutdowns , with a manager-run skeleton service in some areas , due to the strike action as passengers will confirm. It does no one any favours driving more people onto dangerously overcowded trains. | |
| The solution to this dispute isn’t manufactured figures and PR stunts it is serious talks addressing the core issues that have forced our members to strike. | |
| Updated at 1.45pm BST | |
| 12.57pm BST12:57 | |
| Dave Hill | |
| The big significance of this dispute is that all four of the main Tube unions are involved, writes Dave Hill. | |
| That doesn’t happen often and comradely bonds aren’t always warm. The effectiveness of the strike, with every line suspended for the whole of Thursday, is crucially down to the participation of members of Aslef, the union that represents the majority of Tube drivers. Aside from past dust ups over Boxing Day pay, this group of workers doesn’t down tools readily. Its district organiser Finn Brennan chooses the words “sensible and moderate” to describe the organisation, then points to the outcome of the strike ballot: 98% in favour on an 81% turnout. Feelings are running high. | |
| Brennan insists that pay is not the central issue with the Night Tube. It’s about rosters and unsocial shifts and work-life balance in an increasingly pressured system. “There’s an intensification of demands on drivers,” he says. “More and more weekend working, more and more of a squeeze. Throwing money at this won’t help. The London economy is what it is and if you want change, you have to negotiate it through.” | |
| London Underground management, of course, contend that they’re the reasonable ones and that the unions have walked away from talks. The blame positioning is nothing new. Neither are the usual cries for “driverless” trains, with their mistaken assumption that greater automation would instantly bring the unions to their knees. As Transport for London will tell you, even “driverless” trains would be staffed and those staff would be free to join unions. Any attempt to take that right away would very properly meet with fierce opposition in a proud London public service where even some station supervisors attach RMT badges to their ties. | |
| Whichever side you take, the latest Tube strike is symptomatic of a city trying to manage the implications of its own boundless vigour with limited means. Relations between Tube unions and Tube management are at a serious low, but in the end both are essential to the best possible solution for the city they serve. | |
| Read the full post here. | |
| 12.52pm BST12:52 | |
| First Great Western said more than 60% of its services were operating as normal today, despite the RMT’s separate dispute with the company over proposed cuts to guards and buffet cars on new trains. | |
| The RMT claimed its members were “solidly supporting” the 48 hours of strike action over the threat to jobs, services and safety. But FGW said 10% more staff than expected turned up for work. | |
| The dispute centres around plans to dispose of guards and buffet cars on FGW’s new Hitachi Inter City Express trains which will replace intercity trains from 2017. FGW pointed out it had no plans to remove train managers from intercity trains. | |
| First Great Western managing director, Mark Hopwood said: “We can’t deliver those [new trains] if they are operated in the same way as the trains we run today, which were built in the 1970s. | |
| “We have already made assurances about job security and commitments to increase the number of staff on board Super Express Trains, and I am happy to repeat those today. No-one working on board these trains will lose their jobs because of our proposals, in fact we need at least 100 more, not fewer staff on board to deliver our plans. We’ve also protected pay and conditions for those currently working in these roles. | |
| Updated at 1.01pm BST | |
| 12.02pm BST12:02 | |
| Summary | |
| Here’s a summary of where things currently stand: | |
| We’re going to pause the live blog for now, but we will have more updates when the evening commute begins. | |
| 11.42am BST11:42 | |
| Boris Johnson has cast more doubt over the date for the introduction of the Night Tube, according to PA. | |
| After dodging the question of the 12 September deadline for the new services in a radio interview (see earlier) Johnson again refused to rule out a delay when speaking at City Hall.. | |
| Johnson said: “I am not as hung up on the date. We will get it done this autumn.” | |
| Managers have tabled a “final” offer, including an average 2% rise this year, at least retail prices index (RPI) inflation for each of the next two years and 2,000 for drivers on the new service. | |
| Saying this was a “good offer” Johnson added that union leaders simply were not interested in reaching an agreement. | |
| He said: “Obviously I very much apologise for all the delay, all the destruction. I congratulate the millions of Londoners and other around the City who are making a huge effort to get into work. | |
| “I am very sorry for the Tube being down, we have just got to get through this. | |
| “We have got to get on with the Night Tube. The unions don’t like it, they don’t think that we should be able to do this. I think it is essential for the city, they want to show that you can’t do a huge change like this without them expressing their views. | |
| “Unfortunately what has happened is that the union leadership has basically been spoiling for a big fight on this. I think they were very disappointed by the election result in May.” | |
| 11.34am BST11:34 | |
| The queue for taxis at Paddington goes on and on, according to video from the BBC’s Richard Main. | |
| Taxi queue at @NetworkRailPAD right now... #TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/DDtmM2CHhR | |
| 11.28am BST11:28 | |
| For some commuters it was just a walk in the park ... | |
| Fair play to all these commuters walking to work through Green Park in the sun this morning! #tubestrike #walklondon pic.twitter.com/EiOjCDZgZS | |
| 11.24am BST11:24 | |
| Esther Addley | |
| Wimbledon’s famous queue was markedly shorter this morning, numbering perhaps 1,000 rather than the tens of thousands that often line up outside the grounds, writes Esther Addley. | |
| Women’s semi-finals day is often the quietest day of the tournament – the club does not sell tickets for Centre Court or court number 2 on the last four days of the Championships, and the women’s matches often attract a lower attendance than the men’s, particularly when Andy Murray is playing. | |
| But those fans who had made it to the All England Club shortly before the gates opened expressed surprise that they hadn’t had to join the end of a much longer queue. | |
| “We came around this time last year, and there was a queue going back in the park, and people camping overnight in tents,” said Tansy Stowell, who lives in Pimlico and had made her way to the ground by walking to Vauxhall station and catching an overground train. | |
| “Maybe people will start showing up a little bit later today because of the strike, it’ll just take them a little bit longer to get here.” | |
| Matt Noble from York, attending the tournament for the first time with his mother Val, said they had been prepared for their journey from Streatham Common to be “a bit crazy”, but after researching their route on the internet, they had managed to catch two buses without incident. | |
| A steward said it was “very quiet... People are just walking in.” | |
| Attendance figures for Wednesday showed a sharp drop on last year from 40,477 to 37,220, suggesting some tennis fans had stayed away to avoid the start of the strike at 6.30pm. | |
| Wimbledon had warned fans during Wednesday’s match between Andy Murray and Vasek Pospisil that those reliant on the tube “should consider leaving as soon as possible”. | |
| With the District line not running to Southfields tube station, the closest to the All England Club, organisers have laid on extra shuttle buses for those arriving at Wimbledon overground station. | |
| 11.19am BST11:19 | |
| LBC host James O’Brien launched a passionate defence of the strikers and an attack on London Underground and Boris Johnson on his show this morning. | |
| Here’s a sample: | |
| I don’t know for sure who is in the right and who is in the wrong on this. But I know historically I wouldn’t trust Boris Johnson ... if I was married to him. Tube drivers don’t necessarily strike me as people dedicated to the destruction of this city. | |
| What I really don’t know is how we have ended up hating people who can take a swing back at their bosses. | |
| 10.59am BST10:59 | |
| Green Party leader Natalie Bennett is backing the strike. In a statement she said: | |
| “I stand in solidarity with the workers striking this week. These strikes are the last resort of workers seriously concerned over issues of safety, staffing and pay, and it is clear that employers in both cases have failed to provide the reasonable assurances that their employees have the right to ask for. | |
| “In any significant change to services and the conditions of those who work on them - be it the night Tube or the new inner-city trains - the needs of those who will be staffing them must be a high priority, and workers forced to take industrial action to ensure that this is the case have my support.” | |
| 10.56am BST10:56 | |
| Aisha Gani | |
| Streets surrounding Paddington station were gridlocked as commuters waited for buses during rush hour this morning, writes Aisha Gani. | |
| Passengers, some with large suitcases from Heathrow, thronged Praed Street as police officers and volunteers helped with directions. | |
| A sea of people queuing for alternative buses extended down the pavement, while commuters had to watch numerous already full buses go by before they could get on. | |
| “The bus queues are really long and the uber surcharge is ridiculous”, said Shannon Stronach, 24, after taking the Heathrow Express. | |
| James Riley, 29, a sales assistant at a paint shop, “it’s utter chaos here,” adding: “There isn’t enough services and if I had a vital job to get to I’d be stuffed.” | |
| He urged the unions to accept London Underground’s offer. “I can’t believe there isn’t more public out cry against the strike. I think tube drivers have been offered a good deal,” he said. | |
| Liene Pulture, 23, said she was trying get to Oxford Circus in a journey that usually takes her around an hour. “I think the strike is fairly frustrating - there’s quite a lot of chaos and it’s not organised especially around here, we don’t know what’s happening.” | |
| “There’s a lot of people on road it’s actually quite dangerous”, she said. | |
| Judith Stewart, who had been on a 14 hour flight from Canada, said: “It’s been quite frantic we’ve been waiting here for half an hour to get a bus to King’s Cross.” | |
| Anu Subra, 22, a student from Swansea in Wales, said had sympathy for the striking workers. “The only way sometimes you can get a word out is through chaos,” she said. | |
| Another commuter, Devora Kotseva, 25, said she had been waiting at the bus stop for over an hour. “I’ve already missed two buses because of the rush, and was told that there would be additional buses any moment but that is all relative.” | |
| “I’ve seen a few people out there protesting but I feel sympathetic.” | |
| Eddie Dempsey, a train driver at First Great Western and branch secretary of RMT the Union, said he had been at the picket with several colleagues since 6am. | |
| “Today the strike action has been good and we’ve had lot of support from public, Dempsey said before adding: “but we’ve had harassment from the police - they’ve been over to us four times.” | |
| He added there had been a level of support from the public, “sometimes there’s grief. But people understand we’re not striking for money but for safety.” | |
| Busy busy #Paddington #TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/VRfSnAj946 | |
| Updated at 11.41am BST | |
| 10.39am BST10:39 | |
| Nadia Khomami | |
| Tube cleaners on zero hours contracts were sent home from work this morning after the tube strike resulted in the closure of all 270 of the capital’s underground stations, writes Nadia Khomami. | |
| The cleaners, based at Elephant & Castle, were told their services were no longer needed after they had already made their way into work. They said the cancellation was “just another example” of the little regard London Underground has for the treatment of its staff. | |
| One source, who has been working as a tube cleaner through a third party agency for the past year, said: “Working for an agency means I cover people when they don’t show up for work. I was called by my supervisor yesterday and told to come to Elephant & Castle station today. I woke up very early this morning and took two buses. But when I got there the station was closed. I was with another agency cleaner and two staff cleaners. We waited for a long time until our supervisor finally called us. | |
| “Me and the other agency worker were told to go home, and that we wouldn’t be getting paid nor have our expenses covered. Five or six other colleagues called me from different stations on the Bakerloo line and said the same had happened to them. The staff cleaners were told to go to Queen’s park for training somehow.” | |
| The cleaner said she makes £64 a day and has already spent £10 on her Oyster card trying to get to work. “They pay workers pennies and pocket the profits,” she said. “My colleague has been doing this job for seven years without being offered a permanent position. London Underground are not aware of what is going on, they don’t want to know to know how their money is being spent, how many hours employees are working, who they are. They simply take the business out of their own house.” | |
| Finn Brennan, a representative from ASLEF, the union for train drivers and operators, said: “The cleaners reported to duty, then got a call from their boss telling them to go home, that the tubes aren’t running. It’s absolutely outrageous. You can understand why people who work for London Underground are so angry. They aren’t able to stand up from themselves.” | |
| When approached for a comment by the Guardian, TfL said it had not heard of any incidents of cleaners being sent home, but that any cleaner who showed up to work today would be paid as if they did a normal shift. “We will honour their shift. They’ll get paid as if they worked,” a spokeswoman for the transport service said. | |
| @LSEUnison officers showing solidarity with ASLEF & RMT members at elephant and castle pic.twitter.com/9Pt20Yq63q | |
| Updated at 10.41am BST | |
| 10.36am BST10:36 | |
| Labour leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn is backing the union’s concern about staffing levels and safety on the proposed night Tube. He said: | |
| “No one is fooled by the mayor’s spin that this is primarily about pay. There is big concern that in stations outside central London, night tubes will be stopping at stations that will have no minimum staffing levels - which could mean just one member of staff dealing with the public coming home after a late night out. This is a safety nightmare and clearly not good for these staff or the public. | |
| “Boris Johnson has presided over worsening employee relations on the Tube. He must now talk and end the disruption that his approach has caused.” | |
| 10.28am BST10:28 | |
| Mark Tran | |
| At 8am commuters were streaming out of Euston station, but with no Underground, the bus stops were more crowded than usual, writes Mark Tran. | |
| The 205 heading east towards Liverpool St and the City was particularly sought after. One filled up quickly after pulling, leaving not a few frustrated - but not too ill-tempered. | |
| Liza McGuigan, an accountant rom Northwood would normally have caught the Tube to Liverpool St, but today it would be the 205 - or walking. | |
| “I got up at 6 instead of 7,” she said good-naturedly. “It’s quite well-organised, not the pandemonium you usually see.” A commuter for some 30 years, she wondered about the effectiveness of today’s strike. | |
| “I’ve seen them do it over the years, but what have they achieved?” she said. | |
| As a 205 quickly filled up, she decided that she and a friend would walk.“The buses don’t look very promising and I’ve got my trainers,” she said, as she and her friend set off. | |
| Jennifer Ben Tsion, who was having a sandwich before a job interview for a paralegal job, moved to Hertfordshire, near Ware because she and her husband were sick of taking the Tube ever day. | |
| On a day like this, such a move paid dividends. All she had to do was catch a train from Welwyn North to King’s Cross and make the short walk to Euston for the job interview. | |
| “When you live outside of London, it’s easier to find alternative routes,” she said. | |
| For D Patel, getting to work was not so easy. Living in Harrow and Willesden, he had got up at 5.30 instead of 6 and was now waiting for a 68 bus for Elephant and Castle, south of the river. | |
| “My journey normally takes 45 minutes, but it’s taken me two hours already. It’s very terrible. I am supposed to open the post office at 8.30 and I am going to be late.”As he spoke, his bus pulled in and he was off. | |
| The eastbound 205 filled up particularly fast this morning at Euston station #tubestrike pic.twitter.com/LVrKHbCyu0 | |
| 10.22am BST10:22 | |
| The NSPCC spotted a shameless opportunity for some publicity, but it’s for a good cause. | |
| Many lines in London are down today, but the most important line for children is always open: ChildLine. #TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/fA1mSuaW8G | |
| 10.08am BST10:08 | |
| The strike has fuelled right wing calls to weaken the unions. | |
| Writing in the Spectator Leo McKinstry has a long shopping list for curbing union power. | |
| It is intolerable that millions of commuters should effectively be held to ransom by a self-serving minority. With a majority government, the Prime Minister is no longer forced to tolerate it. | |
| Cameron can now tighten the conditions under which a strike could be held. At present, the lives of millions can be disrupted on the votes of a tiny minority of members. In one grotesque recent case, a London bus strike was threatened earlier this year on the support of 16% of those entitled to vote. The Conservatives have pledged to introduce a threshold of 40%. That would end the ability of hardliners to disrupt public services without the support of the majority. | |
| The Trades Union Bill — when it comes — should also include a stipulation that the decision of a strike ballot should be time-limited. Last year, the NUT was still holding one-day strikes on the basis of a vote taken in 2012, in which just a quarter of its membership voted. By stopping unions from voting on industrial action too far into the future, such scandals could be prevented. | |
| Other proposals could include directing greater power and resources to the independent trade unions certification officer, so that accounts and memberships can be properly audited, and a legal requirement that members should opt in to paying the political levy rather than opting out. In Northern Ireland, where an opt-in scheme already exists, just a third of union members volunteer to pay the levy. | |
| The Tories should further consider ending the unions’ immunity from claims for damages arising from strikes. This exemption, introduced through the Trade Disputes Act of 1906, is unique among British institutions and confers on the unions a tremendous amount of power without any commensurate responsibility. It is a privilege that has lingered far too long. Even Margaret Thatcher in her 1980s pomp did not end the exemption but only limited its scope. | |
| Well, this is the unfinished business from Mrs Thatcher’s time. The trade unions should no longer be allowed to behave with such arrogance towards the public. They should be made accountable for their actions. | |
| Tory MP Andrew Griffiths claims the public have no sympathy with striking tube workers. | |
| Tube drivers striking today start work on 50k & get 43 days holiday a year. Little wonder the public have no sympathy. | |
| 9.59am BST09:59 | |
| The taxi app firm Hailo says its has seen a 500% increase in prebooked taxis with demand running at double the level it got on New Year’s Eve. | |
| 9.52am BST09:52 | |
| RMT’s lead negotiator John Leach has hit back at Boris Johnson’s claim that that the strike is politically motivated. | |
| “It is political because he [the mayor] has put through a cuts agenda for the next six years ... and at the same time rolling out this night tube which is not funded properly,” Leach said. | |
| Speaking to BBC Radio London, Leach said the unions rejected London Underground pay offer because it didn’t address the fundamental issues about job losses, cuts and night tube being “railroaded through” and rosters being changed without consultation, and no extra time offered to those working antisocial hours. | |
| “Tube staff have just about had enough of this now. The mayor and his management staff need a radical rethink,” he said. | |
| Leach added: “We are talking about work/life balance. It is not about cash. We want the lights to switch on when we talk to these people about the impact of increased shift working.” | |
| #TUSC supporting #tubestrike at Barking pic.twitter.com/EA14gOLWiS | |
| 9.34am BST09:34 | |
| Chief secretary to the Treasury Greg Hands condemned the strike as “irresponsible” and defiant of customer demands for night Tubes. | |
| I condemn the irresponsible Tube strike by the RMT today, in defiance of customer demand for (limited) nighttime Tube service. | |
| Updated at 9.34am BST | |
| 9.31am BST09:31 | |
| It’s “absolute carnage” out there. | |
| Related: Tube strike leads to scenes of 'absolute carnage' for commuters in London | |
| 9.27am BST09:27 | |
| Frustrated commuters have talking to Aish Gani at Paddington. | |
| James Riley said: I can't believe there isn't more public outcry #TubeStike pic.twitter.com/EHc4Nxullg | |
| Liene Pulture who is trying to get to Oxford Circus said there was a lack of organisation #TubeStike pic.twitter.com/SXMSNydeGR | |
| Judith & husband, lugging around three suitcases, came off a 14hr flight from Canada and have waited 1/2hr for bus pic.twitter.com/4qtho732HW | |
| Updated at 9.36am BST | |
| 9.23am BST09:23 | |
| London Mayor Boris Johnson said the strike was “totally unnecessary” and was causing huge disruption to Londoners and to businesses. PA quotes the mayor saying: | |
| “I think most reasonable people will look at the offer that’s on the table from London Underground and find it impossible to fathom why the unions are rejecting it. | |
| I also think it’s extraordinary that the union leadership hasn’t even put the offer back to their members to formally consider. | |
| We are going to get on with the night Tube and ultimately this strike will achieve nothing. Londoners will no doubt show resolve and resourcefulness in getting to where they need to go.” | |
| 9.11am BST09:11 | |
| Hailo taxi drivers have had a busy morning. | |
| Hailo drivers responding to the #TubeStrike https://t.co/jEC8LhNFYy | |
| 9.09am BST09:09 | |
| The Guardian’s Aisha Gani has been braving the chaos, queues and picket lines around Paddington Station. | |
| Mid-way through my travel chaos to cover your travel chaos during the #TubeStrike - give me your thoughts if you're at #Paddington station | |
| All the way down Praed Street outside #Paddington station #TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/pcOUClEYny | |
| I have been speaking to train driver & colleagues from First Great Western striking today who've been here since 6am pic.twitter.com/EziaqTqJt2 | |
| Busy busy #Paddington #TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/VRfSnAj946 | |
| 9.06am BST09:06 | |
| Here’s the the queue for Taxi’s at Kings Cross. | |
| Taxi anyone? #TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/fIuZSQW1uE | |
| And another video of that monster queue at Liverpool Street. | |
| #tubestrike just look at that queue! Makes me proud! #London #liverpoolstreet pic.twitter.com/eLeI8t69R0 | |
| 8.56am BST08:56 | |
| The bus queue at Victoria station could be even longer. It takes two minutes to walk the length of the line, according Ryan Hunter who posts a speeded up video version. | |
| It's just taken me nearly two minutes to walk the length of the bus queue at Victoria 😁 #TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/FMf2YfwTpS | |
| 8.53am BST08:53 | |
| There is an extraordinary queue for buses at Liverpool Street according to video by Seb White. | |
| Here is the queue for buses at Liverpool Street #tubestrike @BBCNews @BBCNewsbeat @itvnews @BBCLondon949 pic.twitter.com/rtNgWmrWCr | |
| 8.50am BST08:50 | |
| First Great Western disrupted | |
| First Great Western says its services have been severely hit by a separate dispute involving RMT workers. | |
| On many of its lines there are no services at all and the main commuter service between London and Bristol is only running at one train per hour. The union said trains that are running are “dangerously overcrowded”. | |
| It issued this map of the disruption. | |
| RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said” | |
| RMT members across First Great Western are solidly supporting the 48 hours of strike action over the threat to jobs, services and safety. Pickets are out in force and the mood is united and determined as we fight for workplace justice. | |
| FGW are running a skeleton service in some areas which is dangerously overcrowded and being operated by inadequately trained managers, raising serious safety issues which RMT will be taking up formally. | |
| The anger of staff is clear as the action bites and it is now down to the company to recognise that and get back round the table to address the serious issues at the core of this dispute. | |
| Solidarity to #RMT First Great Western pickets in Cardiff. Defending jobs and our safety! pic.twitter.com/WmXENB1Yzg | |
| 8.45am BST08:45 | |
| Updated at 10.19am BST | |
| 8.35am BST08:35 | |
| Johnson insisted that unions have been presented with a “handsome offer” to staff, but were refusing to discuss it. | |
| “Our negotiators have found that they [the unions] have absolutely no interest in doing a deal. They are determined to not put the package that we are offering to their membership, and I think they should,” the mayor said. | |
| He added: “One way or the other I afraid we must get on with modernisation and improvement to the Tube. I’ve said that are going to have driverless trains and we will have driverless trains, I’ve said that we will reform the ticket offices and we have ... and we’ll get on with the night Tube as well.” | |
| 8.27am BST08:27 | |
| London Mayor Boris Johnson has suggested the timetable for introducing all-night Underground services may slip. When asked about the 12 September deadline on BBC London, Johnson evaded the question. | |
| “We will see what happens there. But frankly what is much more important is that the union leadership put this offer to their membership, cut the cackle, stop the misery for Londoners and allow the Tube workforce to get on with their job,” he said. | |
| The mayor said it was “odd” for the unions to be striking when TFL was hiring an extra 137 train operators to help with the new night shifts. | |
| Johnson claimed the strike is politically motivated. “What I think is going on here, is a union leadership that was very disappointed with the election outcome deciding to make a political point and flexing their muscles.” | |
| He added: “When it comes to the Tube, I’m afraid we have a situation you have unions who are often hell bent often on causing disruption, using the monopoly power that they have and disrupting Londoners’ lives. We are determined just to get through it and get the reforms through.” | |
| 8.12am BST08:12 | |
| Transport for London has confirmed there are no Tube services running today, due to what it described as “an unnecessary strike”. | |
| In a statement it said: | |
| LU has tried everything possible to engage the unions over the last five months to try to reach an agreement on pay and the introduction of the Night Tube 24-hour Underground services at weekends from September. The process has been hampered by the unions frequently walking out of negotiations or refusing to turn up. LU received no response to the fair and competitive pay offer made last Monday. | |
| Steve Griffiths, London Underground’s chief operating officer, added: | |
| A night time Tube service is something Londoners and businesses have been requesting for many years. It will make life easier for everyone, cut journey times, create jobs and boost the economy. We want to reward our staff for its delivery and have been open and transparent in our negotiations with the trade unions – but unfortunately they have failed to engage. We have put forward a very, very fair offer, which consists of an average salary increase of 2%, 1% or RPI (whichever is greater) for next year and the one after, plus a £500 night tube launch bonus and an additional £2,000 bonus for night tube train drivers. No one will have to work more hours than they do now, and we have a longer term plan, which will mean no one will need to work nights if they don’t want to. Given these commitments, the key question Londoners will rightly be asking, is why the unions have refused to put this new pay deal to their memberships and instead opted to push on with completely unnecessary strike action, which is inflicting major disruption on Londoners and businesses today. | |
| 8.05am BST08:05 | |
| RMT claims 'rock solid' strike | |
| The RMT union says the support for the strike has been rock solid. | |
| General Secretary Mick Cash issued this statement” | |
| The strike action on London Underground is rock solid across all lines, all grades and all depots and the unity and solidarity of the entire workforce, which has now brought London to a standstill, must force the tube bosses back to the negotiating table to address the issues at the heart of this dispute. | |
| That means an end to the attempt to bulldoze through new working patterns that would wreck work/life balance and leave staff in safety critical jobs burnt out and stressed out at a time when tube services are facing unprecedented demand. We’ve wasted three months in negotiations that failed to address staff concerns and it’s essential for London that there’s no repeat of that fiasco and that puts the ball firmly in LU’s court this morning. | |
| 8.01am BST08:01 | |
| Tory MP Guy Opperman looks on the bright side. It’s a beautiful day to bike, he tweets. | |
| Cycled in to HOC past many Londoners walking, in cars or queueing for buses as tube drivers on strike again over pay.But beautiful day 4🚴🚴 | |
| It’s not bad for boating either. | |
| #tubestrike alternative, I imagine I'm in Miami Vice😎🌴 on @thamesclippers This plays http://t.co/CtNd5kp58Z pic.twitter.com/qoZoUDtNCr | |
| And then there’s all those lovely vintage buses. | |
| Awesome! @TfL have pulled an old-school Routemaster back in to service to help the #tubestrike. pic.twitter.com/tCWwzBHTEB | |
| London on the move. Old #routemaster buses back on streets en masse 'cos tube strike. Just marvellous. Am on one now. pic.twitter.com/13Bo9yulA1 | |
| Updated at 8.02am BST | |
| 7.48am BST07:48 | 7.48am BST07:48 |
| The Tube strike is not the only reason why it may be tempting to take the day off today. There’s also the Ashes, Wimbledon and the Tour de France. Stuart Heritage has a skiving guide. | The Tube strike is not the only reason why it may be tempting to take the day off today. There’s also the Ashes, Wimbledon and the Tour de France. Stuart Heritage has a skiving guide. |
| Updated at 7.51am BST | Updated at 7.51am BST |
| 7.41am BST07:41 | 7.41am BST07:41 |
| Steve Griffith,s London Underground’s chief operating officer, claims London’s commuters are “coping well” with the strike. | Steve Griffith,s London Underground’s chief operating officer, claims London’s commuters are “coping well” with the strike. |
| Speaking to the BBC London he said 200 extra buses had been put on. “At the moment London is very resilient,” he said despite reports of fights for buses. | Speaking to the BBC London he said 200 extra buses had been put on. “At the moment London is very resilient,” he said despite reports of fights for buses. |
| He said LU was available to talk to the unions today. “We have put an offer on the table, we have made that offer available for further discussions. But the unions have refused to respond to the offer. And refused to put it to their members.” | He said LU was available to talk to the unions today. “We have put an offer on the table, we have made that offer available for further discussions. But the unions have refused to respond to the offer. And refused to put it to their members.” |
| 7.27am BST07:27 | 7.27am BST07:27 |
| Some commuters have already been turned away from packed buses, according to the BBC’s Richard Main. | Some commuters have already been turned away from packed buses, according to the BBC’s Richard Main. |
| It's 0630 and small crowds of people are already being turned away from full busses at Paddington #tubestrike pic.twitter.com/cBrgE1JUuO | It's 0630 and small crowds of people are already being turned away from full busses at Paddington #tubestrike pic.twitter.com/cBrgE1JUuO |
| 7.26am BST07:26 | 7.26am BST07:26 |
| Thinking of walking to work? Fallon London has a guide to how long it will take to walk between Underground stations. | Thinking of walking to work? Fallon London has a guide to how long it will take to walk between Underground stations. |
| Here's how long it will take you to walk between Underground stops tonight: http://t.co/fKIbsG8yPc #TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/49K4f0GK0j | Here's how long it will take you to walk between Underground stops tonight: http://t.co/fKIbsG8yPc #TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/49K4f0GK0j |
| Transport for London also has a guide to walking to work. | Transport for London also has a guide to walking to work. |
| 7.16am BST07:16 | 7.16am BST07:16 |
| Summary | Summary |
| Welcome to live updates on the biggest strike on the London Underground for 13 years. | Welcome to live updates on the biggest strike on the London Underground for 13 years. |
| Commuters face a hellish trip into work after a 24-hour walkout, which started last night, forced the whole of the London Underground [LU] network to close for the first time since 2002. | Commuters face a hellish trip into work after a 24-hour walkout, which started last night, forced the whole of the London Underground [LU] network to close for the first time since 2002. |
| Vintage buses have been dusted off, but the extra bus services are packed, and Boris bikes are in short supply. | Vintage buses have been dusted off, but the extra bus services are packed, and Boris bikes are in short supply. |
| Business groups said the strike will cost the capital’s economy tens of millions of pounds. The government and London’s mayor Boris Johnson condemned the action but unions said LU was to blame. | Business groups said the strike will cost the capital’s economy tens of millions of pounds. The government and London’s mayor Boris Johnson condemned the action but unions said LU was to blame. |
| Tube strike politically motivated - union bosses need to explain why they refuse to put new offer to members - disgraceful - call it off! | Tube strike politically motivated - union bosses need to explain why they refuse to put new offer to members - disgraceful - call it off! |
| Four trade unions are involved in a strike over new all-night Tube services, due to start in mid-September. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, Aslef, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite want a better pay offer and conditions for the all night shifts. | Four trade unions are involved in a strike over new all-night Tube services, due to start in mid-September. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, Aslef, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite want a better pay offer and conditions for the all night shifts. |
| Managers have tabled a “final” offer, including an average 2% rise this year, at least retail prices index (RPI) inflation for each of the next two years and 2,000 for drivers on the new service. | Managers have tabled a “final” offer, including an average 2% rise this year, at least retail prices index (RPI) inflation for each of the next two years and 2,000 for drivers on the new service. |
| RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “Despite strenuous efforts by union negotiators to press London Underground to address the issues of fairness, safety, work/life balance and equality at the heart of this dispute, they have come up with nothing in the talks.” | RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “Despite strenuous efforts by union negotiators to press London Underground to address the issues of fairness, safety, work/life balance and equality at the heart of this dispute, they have come up with nothing in the talks.” |
| Finn Brennan, Aslef’s organiser on the Tube, said: “The responsibility for this strike and the disruption that it will cause rests squarely with London Underground management. | Finn Brennan, Aslef’s organiser on the Tube, said: “The responsibility for this strike and the disruption that it will cause rests squarely with London Underground management. |
| “They squandered the window of opportunity to resolve this dispute by refusing to move their position in the slightest for three months and then demanding that all four trade unions accept an offer in one afternoon. | “They squandered the window of opportunity to resolve this dispute by refusing to move their position in the slightest for three months and then demanding that all four trade unions accept an offer in one afternoon. |
| “We will be ready to return to the negotiating table on Friday morning to ensure that further action can be avoided.” | “We will be ready to return to the negotiating table on Friday morning to ensure that further action can be avoided.” |
| Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “This is an unnecessary strike that threatens massive disruption and benefits no one. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with workers, families and commuters who want to go about their lives without disruption. I urge the strikers to accept the good offer that employers have made and get back to work.” | Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “This is an unnecessary strike that threatens massive disruption and benefits no one. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with workers, families and commuters who want to go about their lives without disruption. I urge the strikers to accept the good offer that employers have made and get back to work.” |
| The Tube strike coincides with a 48-hour stoppage by workers on First Great Western have hit trains to and from London Paddington. | The Tube strike coincides with a 48-hour stoppage by workers on First Great Western have hit trains to and from London Paddington. |