The London Underground has urged Londoners to try to leave work two hours before the strike is set to begin to avoid rush hour crowds.
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Business groups say the strike will cost this city of 8.6 million people tens of millions of pounds (dollars) in lost productivity.
However, unions say the 24-hour tube service due to begin in September will wreck work-life balance for its staff.
The strike has also been condemned by the Government, but unions said London Underground was to blame.
Managing director Mike Brown said in a message to passengers that the company had “strained every muscle” to put together a “remarkably fair” pay offer for the introduction of the new Tubes. The commitment from the unions to work with us to change the way we roster Sundays will allow us to recruit new drivers and will, ultimately, deliver a much improved service for our customers. “This strike is unnecessary”, he said.
The strike came into force after the Unions failed to reach an agreement with the Transport for London (Tfl) over the night tube services terms.
Passengers were given details of disruption to Tube services.
Thousands of striking workers from the four trade unions involved in the walkout mounted picket lines outside stations.
“We are not asking staff to work unlimited nights and weekends”.
Commuter train staff from the First Great Western operator are also on strike over plans to cut staff on newly planned Hitachi Inter City Express trains.
Transport for London (TfL), which oversees London Underground and reports to Johnson, said people should travel outside peak hours today and consider working from home where possible.
Prime Minister David Cameron’s spokeswoman called the strike unacceptable and unjustified, while London mayor Boris Johnson said it was politically motivated.
One of the disgruntled unions, the Transport Salaried Staff’s Association (TSSA), took to its website to announce the strike and share its reasoning for freezing London’s widely used underground transit system. “Londoners will no doubt show resolve and resourcefulness in getting to where they need to go”. “In return, we are offering a realistic pay increase this year and next, as well as an additional payment for Night Tube working”.
“We work to keep London moving day in, day out”.
“When you’re living in London that long, you just have to learn to live with it”, said Thumwood, a native of the English capital.
Though the system should be running again by Friday, the stoppage has caused commuting chaos as transit users scramble to find alternate modes of transportation.
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The strike is being held as part of a dispute about pay and workers’ conditions when the new night tube is introduced. “I got up early to get in on time and now I think I’m going to be late”.
