Speaking at City Hall as thousands of commuters struggled to get to work due to strike action, he refused to rule out a delay of its launch on September 12, as previously announced by Transport for London.
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Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the strike as “unjustified and unacceptable”, adding: “It will hit millions of families across the capital and cause chaos for businesses”.
“Why is it wrong to say that those benefits should not come at the expense of the people who will work to deliver them?” Police was called and they just arrived!
“I am very sorry your journey has been disrupted”.
Around an extra 200 buses will be on the roads during the strike, while roadworks will also be suspended where possible.
Staff on the DLR, London Overground, TfL rail, trams and buses are not striking, but these services will be much busier than usual.
There were also signalling problems at London Bridge, which heaped further misery on passengers.
Commuters squeezed in buses, took expensive Uber cabs, rode rented bicycles or went by foot to get to work during the strike.
But the unions say London Underground has done too little to meet its members’ concerns about pay, health and safety, working conditions and promises about job cuts.
Drivers and station staff walked out in a dispute over pay and schedules when a 24-hour subway service starts on some lines later this year.
London’s TSSA and RMT transport unions began a 24-hour long strike that overlaps with another organized by Aslef.
“We’ve had no response”.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said the strike had “rock solid” support from workers. The drivers are protesting low pay as well as plans to provide round-the-clock train service beginning in September.
EPA Commuters board a train at Westminster Station in London.
A time-lapse video posted to Instagram Wednesday evening, when the strike started, shows commuters climbing over the walls surrounding the steps of the Oxford Circus station to try to catch the last trains home.
TfL said Tube services would resume on Friday with a full service, but advised customers to check before they travel.
“Providing real-time info on arrivals at every one of London’s 20,000 bus stops, and giving you a heads-up on any route disruption, Bus Checker is an invaluable resource – especially when the tube is down”.
Johnson was quoted as saying participants of the London Underground tube strike can “strike until they are blue in the face”.
Others managed to find humour in the strike, with Felicity Morse tweeting: “Londoners have turned to savagery in the midst of the #tubestrike”.
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However, some were not amused. One Twitter user, BermondseyBoy, posted a photo of an empty London Underground tube.
