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<\/p>\nWatch: London commuters hit by delays caused by Tube strikes<\/p>\n
Severely disrupted London Underground services spurred Londoners to turn to bikes, buses and black cabs to make their way through the capital during the first working day of a Tube workers’ strike.<\/p>\n
Members of the Rail, Maritime And Transport union (RMT) staged the walkout over pay and conditions, including a request for a reduction in the hours that make up a working week.<\/p>\n
The Elizabeth line and the Overground were operational, albeit much busier than usual, Transport for London (TfL) said.<\/p>\n
Industrial action is due to continue until 08:00 BST on Friday.<\/p>\n
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Many Londoners are hoping the bus will take them to work <\/p>\n
Cycle hire company Lime, which has more than 25,000 bikes across London, said it tried to keep as many of them as possible in service. <\/p>\n
General manager Kaan Tas said the company knew from experience that demand surges during strikes and Lime had a team on standby to keep vehicles in service.<\/p>\n
There were also extra foot patrols in central London to keep high-demand areas clear and bikes available.<\/p>\n
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Large queues formed at central London bus stops <\/p>\n
Chris Barnes, who travels into central London from Ramsgate on the Kent coast five days a week said the strike caused his daily journey to become a 6-hour round-trip.<\/p>\n
He said he accepted Tube workers “were unhappy, but my sympathy has run out”.<\/p>\n
NHS worker Rachel Edwards said she did not agree with the RMT’s demand for a 32-hour week, believing it to be “unrealistic”. <\/p>\n
She added: “The country is in such a mess and we all need to pull together and not go on strike.”<\/p>\n
Another traveller, Paul Weallans, described the strikes as “a fact of life in London” and hoped a resolution would “not be a long time coming”. <\/p>\n
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EPA<\/p>\n
Almost the whole Tube network has been shut by the strike <\/p>\n
‘Fair and affordable’<\/p>\n
The RMT union said its members did not strike with the aim of disrupting small businesses or the public.<\/p>\n
“We believe a shorter working week is fair and affordable particularly when you consider TfL has a surplus of \u00a3166m last year and a \u00a310bn annual operating budget.”<\/p>\n
The union said there were 2,000 fewer employees on the Underground since 2018, with members “feeling the strain of extreme shift patterns”.<\/p>\n
London Underground, which runs the Tube network, described union demands for a cut in the 35-hour week as “simply unaffordable”.<\/p>\n
Director of customer operations Nick Dent said a reduction to a 32-hour week would cost the company “hundreds of millions”.<\/p>\n
He also said this week’s actions would be “very damaging” for London Underground, as separate groups of workers are walking out on different days.<\/p>\n