London hops on two wheels to beat the Tube strike

Cyclists: Londoners on their way to work during tube strike chaos
@Susie__Chan
Saphora Smith9 January 2017

Thousands of Londoners took to two wheels today to avoid nightmare journeys to work on the strike-hit Tube.

London's cycle superhighways were packed with hordes of lycra-clad cyclists eager to avoid the huge crowds which built up on London's buses and at Tube stations.

CCTV footage of London's key thoroughfares shows streams of cyclists pedalling their way to work.

Millions of commuters were affected by the on-going strike action over job losses and ticket office closures, which was slammed by the Mayor as "completely unnecessary."

Footage of the Embankment cycle superhighway, Vauxhall Bridge Road and Blackfriars Road showed fast-flowing streams of cyclists in Hi-Vis jackets commuting during the morning’s rush-hour, noticeably busier than before the strike.

Elsewhere, swarms of cyclists picked their way through heavy London traffic.

Transport for London said that at 11.15am today, 17,417 Santander cycles had been hired. The record for a whole January day is 25,000.

Ben Miller, 26, a sales manager, who does not usually cycle to work, told The Standard: “Cycling along the super cycle highways was great.

“So much nicer than sitting on a two and half hour long bus and the exercise is a great way to start the day. After all if there are two things I know will never strike it’s my legs.”

Another commuter, Antony Tiernan, wrote on Twitter: “The #TubeStrike is a nightmare, but there’s something special about seeing so many people walking and cycling through the streets of #London.”

A spokesman for London Cycling Campaign said while they could not put a figure on the number of people who cycled to work in London, "we are seeing social media posts and video showing that there are significantly more people riding on the Cycle Superhighways and other key routes.”

Tube strike chaos

1/17

The campaign said they hoped the people who cycled to work today would consider cycling again in the future.

The spokesman said: “More people cycling in London is always a good thing. And we know from similar events in the past that many people who ride to work once continue to do so after the disruption has ended.”

Striking Tube workers brought chaos to the capital despite London Underground agreeing to demands to create hundreds more jobs at salaries of up to £45,000.

While union leaders claimed they were striking in the name of “safety”, there were frightening scenes as crowds fought to get on to limited services, trains and buses.

The morning of mayhem came despite a series of measures from Tube bosses to ease the staffing crisis.

Clapham Junction was evacuated temporarily at the height of the peak period as serious overcrowding caused safety concerns.

Across the city roads were gridlocked and queues formed for trains.

Commute: Cyclists on their way to work on Monday morning
Dominic Lipinski/PA

Today’s misery was at the start of a week of strikes, with three days of walkouts set to halt all Southern rail services tomorrow, Wednesday and Friday and a 48-hour strike by British Airways cabin crew cancelling some flights from Heathrow tomorrow and Wednesday.

RMT union leader Mick Cash said the Tube strike was justified because so many jobs had been axed that it had been reduced to an “understaffed-death trap”.

But London Underground said it had responded to the union concerns by offering new jobs.

Steve Griffiths, chief operating officer, maintained there was “no need to strike” because he had agreed with the unions that more staff were needed on stations.

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