A 24-hour strike on London Underground has created major travel disruption in the capital and gridlocked streets
4.58pm GMT
3.11pm GMT
Here’s a video summary of the strike.
3.04pm GMT
The strike is due to end at 6pm but it could be hours before services return to normal, so many London workers are bracing themselves for what could be a tough journey home.
Here’s a summary of what’s happened so far:
2.30pm GMT
The RMT has accused TFL of using misleading figures about the number of open stations by counting unstaffed stations as open.
Daniel Randall, one of its London representatives, said central London stations remained “shut down”.
Open section stations can be kept open unstaffed, so this tweet is completely misleading. Zone 1 is shut down. #TubeStrike #NoScabbing https://t.co/XxK3RAfH5k
2.24pm GMT
TFL reports a 149% increase in Santander cycle hires after extra bikes were put on in central London.
Anyone need a Boris bike? #TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/B8VlgrnXoB
On days like this, thank goodness for @SantanderCycles. @LondonWaterloo to @StPancrasInt in 30 minutes unfit, slow & suited! #TubeStrike
Thank you to the trusty Boris bike @SantanderCycles for getting me from Kings Cross to Parliament today #TubeStrike
2.09pm GMT
Bus passengers are facing delays of up to an hour in central London, according to TFL.
Buses around Central London are experiencing delays of upto 60min due to Tube Strike and heavy traffic around the area.
A journey that would have took 9 minutes on the tube took an hour and a half on the bus #TubeStrike
When u've already been on a bus over an hour & you're suggested route to work consists of a bus, train & a boat -Just go home #TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/mZyb5HgtFn
@TfLBusAlertsTfLBusAlerts
I'm on 328. The problem is that the Journey Planner tells Bus 328 runs every 8 minutes but I waited one hour.
1.54pm GMT
Transport consultant Charlie Parker, from Movement Strategies, says the best long-term way to reduce tube strikes is greater automation. He said:
“Driverless trains are used successfully in dozens of cities across the world and London is lagging behind. Increasing automation in this way will not only increase the capacity of the network in the peak hour, but also reduce the impact of employee strikes. However, the timeline of introducing this will run into the decades – hardly comfort to those planning their return journey this evening.”
1.45pm GMT
An RMT driver says that optimistic service updates from Transport for London should be treated with scepticism.
Writing on RMT London’s Facebook page, the driver says:
Last night the last Jubilee Line train in passenger service left Stratford around 9.30pm. An hour later, the TfL website is still saying ‘A good service operates on the Jubilee Line.’
If that is how accurate the info was following a planned early closure yesterday, how bad will it be today?
1.36pm GMT
The Taxi app Uber is facing a backlash after charging over four times the normal rate for journeys during the strike, the Evening Standard reports.
The minicab app’s surge pricing model has brought significantly inflated prices amid increased demand during the industrial action which started yesterday evening.
The company said the “dynamic pricing” structure is used to ensure people “who need a ride can get one”.
It took me 2 hours and £78 to get to work today in an Uber... never make decisions at 7am, should've just walked the 6 miles! #TubeStrike
Uber vs Black cab to Heathrow airport on a tube strike day. #GoldStandard https://t.co/ubtVpnQsjX
Don't reaaaally understand people laying into Uber for profiting from #TubeStrike - basic supply and demand. Welcome to capitalism?
1.27pm GMT
A few stations have opened, according to Transport for London.
It said that by lunchtime it was running a limited service on nine of 11 tube lines, with 69% (186) of stations open across the network, PA reports.
1.18pm GMT
The RMT has avoided getting into the dispute about the number of stations hit by the strike.
The TSSA, which is also taking action, said only 10 of the 270 Underground stations were open, compared with the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, who claimed 181 were open.
1.11pm GMT
Rachel Obordo filmed part of her scooter ride from Hounslow to King’s Cross along the Euston Road.
She dodges past hundreds of gridlocked vehicles and commuters waiting for buses.
1.02pm GMT
The RMT’s Daniel Randall has been tweeting from a picket line at King’s Cross on why his union and TSSA are taking the action.
We're striking to demand increase in the staffing level to ensure safely & effectively staffed stations. https://t.co/TPuGXoPNvs #TubeStrike https://t.co/460X8V7q8a
@therubykid understood. It's just a shame the two sides are at polar opposites, for the sake of the rest of us.
@YouMustBeAnna Difficult to conduct reasonable negotiations with an employer ideologically committed to cuts.
@therubykid the whole point of a strike is that it's disruptive right! I just wish negotiations had paid off for the sake of us all
@therubykid It makes me super sad to think of those on an hourly wage getting in an hour late because of this - no matter whose fault it is.
@YouMustBeAnna < withdraw our labour, it has an impact. I know it's not much comfort to low-paid workers who might've >
@YouMustBeAnna < missed a shift today, but when it comes to workers' struggle a rising tide really will lift all boats, so to speak.
12.06pm GMT
Readers have been getting in touch with their stories of difficult journeys into work, writes Rachel Obordo.
Mike Staniforth, 37, from Harold Hill in east London, took the tube strike in his stride.
12.04pm GMT
Labour’s frontbench team have been fairly quiet about the strike. No senior figures from the party have condemned the action, with the notable exception of London’s Labour mayor, Sadiq Khan. The shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, has tweeted her support for the TSSA’s safety first message.
As I face a 2 mile walk to work I'm reminded of why the #TubeStrike is happening #SafetyFirst https://t.co/RnasoViJpl
Jeremy Corbyn's campaign manager flying the red flag on the tube strike picket line this morning: https://t.co/nfJeye4OHr pic.twitter.com/RCThyiUMNe
Misery for my constituents today trying to get to work. Hammersmith & Fulham borough has more % Tube users than any other. An awful strike.
Misery for London commuters today thanks to #TubeStrike - new measures may be necessary: https://t.co/SgnYLRFUH7 https://t.co/9bJUJf9Sv8
And people wonder about election promises???? @SadiqKhan pic.twitter.com/xg48BhX5nQ
Braintree commuters who rely on the Tube are being inconvenienced because of Sadiq Khan's weakness #TubeStrike
The tube strikes are designed to cause maximum disruption. Unions show how little they care about ordinary people who will suffer the most.
11.51am GMT
LBC’s Rachel Venables has footage of Trafalgar Square at the peak of the rush hour (or the trough of the crush hour).
Meet Trafalgar Square at 9am on a strike day. Most people here will be late to work. Giving up on buses and walking in @LBC pic.twitter.com/JJhZgREGN4
11.45am GMT
There have been widely differing accounts of the number of stations closed. BBC London says 120 of the 270, or 44%, of London Underground stations are closed. The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said only a third were closed, as he thanked staff for keeping 67%, or 181, of the stations open. The TSSA union said the strike was solid, with only 10, or 3.7%, of the 270 stations open.
11.37am GMT
Here’s Gwyn Topham’s latest news report on the strike:
A strike by London Underground workers has left millions of commuters facing massive disruption and having to endure journeys on gridlocked roads, with most central tube stations closed and crowded rail and bus services elsewhere in the capital.
Related: Tube strike brings manic Monday for commuters in gridlocked London
11.17am GMT
Here’s the queue for a bus at Liverpool Street, via Murray Burnell from BBC London.
Queueing for a bus. London style. ♀️♀️♀️♀️#TubeStrike @BBCLondonNews pic.twitter.com/B6eJIdFPJ5
This is the queue for the number 11 towards Fulham and Victoria, and 23 bus service to Paddington and Ox Street @PA pic.twitter.com/42cbbdGY3j
11.10am GMT
The TSSA union disputes Khan’s claim that 67% of stations have been kept open. It claims only 10 of the 270 stations are open.
The union’s general secretary, Manuel Cortes, says the strike is solid after a visit to several picket lines.
11.05am GMT
The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has thanked Transport for London staff for keeping two-thirds of stations open during the strike.
Thank you to @TfL staff who have kept 67% of stations open during today’s unnecessary strike action.
10.58am GMT
Google Trends has compiled the top five search questions on the strike.
"When does the tube strike end?" and "what is the tube strike about?" - Top questions today on the #TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/kRy3tHI9TN
Central line: Service operating Ealing Broadway to White City, West Ruislip to North Acton, Epping to Liverpool Street, Hainault to Liverpool Street via Newbury Park and Hainault to Woodford. No service on the rest of the line. London Underground tickets are being accepted on London Buses and National Rail services via any reasonable route.
Northern line: Service operating Edgware to Golders Green, High Barnet to East Finchley and Old Street to Morden. No service on the rest of the line.
10.51am GMT
The Today programme suggested that Sadiq Khan was delayed for a radio interview because he was stuck in traffic. The Mirror reports that it was the BBC radio crew who got stuck.
While it was initially reported that the mayor was stuck in traffic, it later emerged that he had been on time to meet the BBC crew at London’s City Hall – after travelling into South Bermondsey by train and walking from there.
But the BBC crew did get stuck in traffic, which delayed the interview.
10.45am GMT
Andy Cook, head of the industrial relations consultancy firm Marshall-James, urges Transport for London not to give in to the unions.
He said:
“A key driver for this strike is the change of office to a Labour mayor; Labour are traditionally more accommodating and supportive of the unions, so Sadiq Khan is seen as an easy target to overturn previous decisions. What’s interesting is that lots of London Underground agreements are decades old and don’t reflect the modern world, for example, the Oyster card wasn’t in place when many original agreements were made. The number of people now traveling on London Underground and paying with cash has fallen, so subsequently less ticket offices are needed and less staff required in their traditional roles.
“Major change is needed to modernise the way the network operates so efficiencies can be made, but old collective agreements are in place that block these changes. The unions are fighting to protect these agreements and, in the past, where they have agreed changes, have negotiated large payments in return. This adds to the inefficiency. Many people who use the tube work in business themselves, and will have experienced their employers making efficiencies and increasing productivity on a regular basis.
10.37am GMT
The car rental firm Sixt is trying to cash in on the strike. It emailed a Guardian colleague, urging him to “drive smug” and not to worry about cancelled trains.
10.30am GMT
“Buses are busier than usual” is how TFL describes it.
Buses are busier than usual today due to #TubeStrike Please allow extra time for yr journey. More info here ~ https://t.co/C9PJbgMuJ8
People absolutely enveloping a bus during the #TubeStrike . pic.twitter.com/8AVqgDpeRS
Trying to get a space on the bus for me nanna, absolute chaos. Been waiting for over two hours #TubeStrike
Crowds outside #ClaphamJunction & at bus stop into town at 9.30am. This is why I got straight back on a bus home (out of town). #TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/9CIhttuKsk
@jeremy_millar_1 on a bus that hasn't moved for 20 minutes and now a fight has broken out on it ✌
10.17am GMT
More tales of travel woe, courtesy of PA:
10.06am GMT
Transport for London put on 150 extra buses to help cope with the extra demand (and add to the gridlock).
They include a number of vintage models to excite the bus spotters.
Tfl using old heritage buses pic.twitter.com/HfaizzIemE
10.00am GMT
If you’ve been affected by the strike we’d like to hear from you. Are you taking a longer, more complicated route into work? Has your employer been understanding about travel difficulties? We’d also like to hear from you if you’re staying at home. Or if you’re striking, let us know why.
You can share your experiences, photos and videos with us by clicking on the blue ‘Contribute’ button on the blog or by filling in our form here.
9.55am GMT
Publishing editor Catherine Allison, 25, was trying to reach Shepherd’s Bush station when she was caught up in the huge crowds at Clapham Junction.
She told the Press Association that an evacuation was called at around 8.50am due to the number of people there, and it took her around 15 minutes to leave.
9.52am GMT
The strike continues to play havoc with the BBC’s interview plans. Start the Week had planned to feature a discussion between host Andrew Marr and the writers Martin Sixsmith, Chibundu Onuzo, Laurence Cockcroft and Oladipo Agboluaje.
But at the start of the show only Sixmith had turned up. It provided the former BBC correspondent and New Labour spin doctor with an unusually long stint to promote his new book. The other guests were stuck in traffic.
9.42am GMT
The Press Association has more on the evacuation at Clapham Junction due to “severe overcrowding”.
No trains were stopping at the station, which is normally served by trains to and from London Victoria and London Waterloo.
9.40am GMT
Ukip and the Conservatives have criticised Khan’s failure to prevent the strike.
The Ukip London Assembly member David Kurten said it had shattered Khan’s election pledge to end strikes on TFL.
Mayor Khan's 'no strikes on TfL' pledge is broken, as today's tube strike brings #London grinding to a halt. https://t.co/udX7UFHwnQ
.@SadiqKhan is in the pocket of the unions. Striking TSSA union donated £15,106 to his Mayoral bid & he ran his campaign from their HQ RT
While I don't knock Sadiq Khan for condemning it (unlike Corbyn) today's tube strike is another massive broken promise in less than a year.
9.35am GMT
In his Today programme interview Khan said he wanted to continue talking to the unions, but he made no new offers on staffing.
We offered to talk to the trade unions, we spent all weekend talking to them. This is a historic dispute that began under Boris Johnson, huge progress has been made. Why strike? Why not resolve these things amicably?
These ticket offices closed down early last year. I was only elected in May. I asked the independent TravelWatch to undertake an independent review. They came back in December. We have been having good discussions with the trade unions and I think those discussions should have carried on.
9.14am GMT
My colleague Nadia Khomami took an Uber taxi from North Finchley to the Guardian’s Kings Cross office. The journey took more than two hours and it cost her £55.23.
9.12am GMT
Clapham Junction has been evacuated because of overcrowding, Southern rail has announced.
⚠ #ClaphamJunction station has been evacuated due to overcrowding. Services are currently not calling
Queues of people at Clapham Junction station
: @hannahaemilia#TubeStrike pic.twitter.com/6unhPZr1fG
9.05am GMT
Here’s an audio recording of that interview with Khan:
9.00am GMT
The Today programme has finally got through to the mayor, Sadiq Khan, who said the strike was completely unnecessary. He said he accepted the union’s argument that stations needed more staff. “There is a legitimate concern about the lack of staff at stations.” However, he said, discussions should have continued. “The solution is not to go on strike.”
8.53am GMT
The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, had been due to be interviewed by the Today programme at 8.30am, but either he, or the broadcaster’s radio car, is stuck in traffic.
Gridlock hasn’t stopped the mayor tweeting criticism of the strike.
This tube strike is causing misery to millions of Londoners. Latest @TfL travel advice here https://t.co/EH11ajs3kS #TubeStrike
8.50am GMT
Transport for London said it was running limited services on eight out of 11 tube lines and expected 60% of stations to open across the network.
Here’s its latest update:
TfL staff are working hard to keep customers informed and ensure London keeps moving and remains open for business today. However, customers are advised that although the strike ends at 6pm services are expected to be disrupted throughout the day and evening and journeys should be completed by 6pm.
For customers travelling to Canary Wharf from central London, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) services are running, however they will be busier than usual. Enhanced river services are linking central London and Canary Wharf.
8.46am GMT
Gridlock has hit central London’s streets, as this aerial footage shows.
8.41am GMT
The TSSA general secretary, Manuel Cortes, has repeated the union’s rejection of London Underground’s staff offer.
The strength of feeling on this issue is reflected in the solidity of the strike, with just a few trains running at the edges of the system.
London Underground may tell you today that they are offering 600 jobs this year, but the tube sheds 400 jobs a year through natural wastage.
8.36am GMT
London Underground has repeated its pledge to recruit extra staff – an offer rejected as not enough by the unions.
Steve Griffiths, the chief operating officer for London Underground, said:
This strike, called by the leadership of the RMT and TSSA unions, is unnecessary. We had always intended to review staffing levels and have had constructive discussions with the unions.
We agree that we need more staff in our stations and have already started to recruit 200 extra staff and this is likely to increase further as we work through the other areas that need to be addressed. Taking into account existing vacancies and natural turnover this means that over 600 staff will be recruited for stations this year.
8.31am GMT
My boss, Dan Sabbagh, the Guardian’s head of news, is one of those struggling into work.
Already too busy to get on... #hernehill pic.twitter.com/EcQsddmuqc
8.28am GMT
John Leach, the RMT’s London regional organiser, claimed London Underground’s management privately shared the union’s concerns about safety, but had been overruled at a more senior level.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme outside Piccadilly Circus underground station, he said: “London Underground management at an operational level know we are right, they agree with us on the safety issues, but could never openly say so. But at a director level and above they tell us they have got no money. That’s not acceptable, because the 4 million people who use London Underground every day are entitled to a safe tube.”
8.18am GMT
Welcome to our live coverage of the 24-hour strike on London Underground as millions of people face a tough journey into work with most central stations closed and all lines hit.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) started the walkout at 6pm on Sunday in a dispute over staffing and ticket office closures.
The strike today is totally unnecessary. See here for latest @TfL travel advice throughout the day https://t.co/Qv2K5CoqyI
Why @RMTunion is taking strike action on the Tube today; https://t.co/Xp7gVLcNi3 pic.twitter.com/fo0MePoDdl
This action has been forced on us by savage cuts to jobs that have reduced London Underground to an under-staffed death trap at a time of heightened security and safety alert.
RMT members will not stand idly by while they see day in and day out the safety regime on the tube being slashed to ribbons. Even senior tube bosses have admitted that we are absolutely correct in our assessment of the risks that are being taken as the impact of the 900 station job cuts hits home.
#TubeStrike is on. #SafetyFirst pic.twitter.com/NVxPAKVEGf
There is no need to strike. We had always intended to review staffing levels and have had constructive discussions with the unions.
We agree that we need more staff in our stations and have already started to recruit 200 extra staff and that is likely to increase further as we work through the other areas that need to be addressed.
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