Story highlights
London crippled by Tube strike
Mayor Sadiq Khan says strike was unnecessary
Millions of Londoners battled to get to work on Monday because of a Tube strike that brought traffic to a standstill, giving many no other alternative but to walk.
All London Underground stations in the city center remained closed in the morning amid the protracted dispute with trade unions over job cuts and the closure of ticket offices to make way for full automation.
Elsewhere services were 67 percent staffed, according to Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London. Unions said in many cases trains were running but were not stopping at stations.
Transport for London said an additional 150 buses had been laid on but many were too crowded to stop for waiting passengers.
Khan, whose father was a London bus driver, said in an earlier tweet the strike was “totally unnecessary.”
The disputes between the RMT and TSSA unions and Transport for London, the organization that runs London’s buses and tubes, began during the tenure of the previous mayor Boris Johnson, now the Foreign Secretary.
Last minute talks failed to avert the 24-hour strike, which ends at 6 p.m. (1 p.m. ET).
Frustrated commuters took to social media to share photographs of their journey to work.
All services are expected to start resuming by Monday evening.
Carmel Nolan, a spokeswoman for TSSA, told CNN that elected union officials would meet this week to decide on the next course of action. “We would very much like to be back at the negotiating table with London Underground, even this week if possible,” she said.
