Tube strike 2022 LIVE – Travel CHAOS as TFL London Underground services suspended today & latest travel updates

Many take to Twitter to support staff

Many commuters have taken to Twitter to show their support for TFL staff following today’s strike.

One user said: “I’m putting my pain in the ass commute to the side but TFL workers deserve more.

“The amount of effort and dedication they put in from 4am starts too 2am finishes, from being put on the frontline to deal with the worst on most occasions. Stand with TFL workers!”

Another said: “I stand with London Underground station staff.

“They work bloody hard, deal with horrible situations, are highly trained to help keep customers safe n work unsociable hours with an exhausting shift pattern.

“They deserve to be treated with respect like any other worker #tubestrike“

“The dispute is across the entire network”

The chief operating officer of Transport for London told LBC: “The dispute is across the entire network, whereas the previous dispute before Christmas was with the Night Tube only with the RMT and on certain lines.

“Today it is covering the whole network. We are hoping to run a limited service on some of the lines but I would really encourage customers to check the TfL website and only travel if their journey is essential.”

He has also encouraged people to work from home on Tuesday and Thursday.

Asked about what provisions have been made for key workers who are not able to work from home, he added: “We’ve laid on extra buses and we also have all our other TfL services which are operating normally.

“I hope that they will be able to get to work without too much of an inconvenience.”

Which Tube lines are affected?

This is intended to be a 24 hour walk out for 10,000 RMT union members.

That means every single Tube line is impacted by these strikes.

Services will either be severely delayed or not running at all.

TfL have advised for people to avoid using the Tube completely and instead use other forms of transport.

Overground, DLR, National Rail and TfL Rail will run as normal but will be impacted by station closures and busy services.

Advice on travelling around London

Services are likely to be much busier than usual.

Here are some tips from Transport for London (TfL):

• Allow extra time to complete your journey
• Consider walking or cycling, as other lines and services are likely to be busier as people seek alternative routes 
• Follow our safer travel guidance throughout the strike
• Check status updates before you travel using our travel tools below

Alternative ways to travel

Here are alternative ways to travel around London during the Tube strike:

Buses and roads are expected to be busier than usual and travellers are advised to allow more time for their journeys and to walk or cycle where possible.

Some boroughs offer electric scooters to rent, which is the only way to legally ride one in London.

These areas are Camden, City of London, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Westminster.

Renting an e-scooter typically costs between £3.25 and £3.40 for a 15-minute journey, according to TfL.

What should commuters do?

Commuters should check before they leave for their commute to see whether the lines are heavily affected.

Those travelling will be able to use the Official TFL website to check for closures and disruption.

New strikes come after workers walked out last month

Workers walked out last month, with strikes on the Central and Victoria lines.

It came after TfL scrapped the 200 part-time Night Tube drivers during the pandemic, with regular drivers now asked to work occasional night shifts instead.

In late 2021, RMT announced they plan to strike every weekend on the Night Tube from January 7, 2022, through to June in “an on-going fight to prevent the ripping up of staffing arrangements that would wreck the work life balance of drivers,” according to a statement sent to City A.M.

Strike action has been carried out since the Night Tube was restarted during the last weekend in November 2021 after being suspended 

TfL’s finances dealt a severe blow during pandemic

TfL’s finances were dealt a severe blow by the drastic fall in revenue raised by fares during the pandemic.

Critics of the Mayor of London have also claimed that his pledge in 2016 not to raise fares has contributed to the situation.

Mr Khan, 51, who is also the chairman of TfL, had to rely on a number of bailouts from Westminster to prevent London Underground and the capital’s buses from grinding to a halt.

Sadiq Khan ‘considering shutting tube network for days at a time’

Workers have been told not to come into work on Tuesday, March 1 and Thursday, March 3.

According to the Evening Standard, the decision to strike is over plans to axe up to 600 jobs posts in a bid to save cash.

Transport for London (TfL) is thought to be in a blackhole of £15 billion with London Mayor Sadiq Khan said to be “considering shutting London’s tube network for days at a time”.

Huge rises on rail season tickets

A 3.8% rise on rail fares would lead to hikes in the cost of annual season tickets, such as:

• Brighton to London (any route): Up £194 to £5,302
• Liverpool to Manchester (any route): Up £105 to £2,865
• Neath to Cardiff: Up £70 to £1,922

Will other London transport networks still be running?

London Overground – along with TfL Rail, the DLR, London Trams and National Rail – will be running on the strike dates.

But TfL says: “Services will be running normally but will be busier than usual. Allow more time for your journey and consider alternatives.

“If you are using services from stations also served by the Tube, check before you travel for possible station closures.”

Current TfL funding deal comes to an end in June

The Government announced a new funding deal for TfL last week, which will run until the end of June.  

The announcement of strike action came just three days after the Government agreed to continue its bailout for TfL while a deal is worked out to secure its long-term funding.

Severe disruption expected across all tube lines

Transport for London (TfL) said it expects severe disruption across all Tube lines tomorrow and Thursday.

The planned action is also likely to severely affect services on Wednesday and Friday, particularly in the morning peak.

TfL has criticised the industrial action, saying there are no proposals on pensions or terms and conditions, and nobody has or will lose their jobs because of the proposals it has set out.

RMT defends strike action

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Our members will be taking strike action because a financial crisis at LU (London Underground) has been deliberately engineered by the Government to drive a cuts agenda which would savage jobs, services, safety and threaten their working conditions and pensions.

“These are the very same transport staff praised as heroes for carrying London through Covid for nearly two years, often at serious personal risk, who now have no option but to strike to defend their livelihoods.

“The politicians need to wake up to the fact that transport staff will not pay the price for this cynically engineered crisis.

“In addition to the strike action, RMT is co-ordinating a campaign of resistance with colleagues from other unions impacted by this threat.”

TfL criticises industrial action

A statement reads: “TfL will do all it can to provide as many transport options as possible, but customers are advised to check before they travel, consider if their travel is essential and work from home if possible.

“They should leave more time for journeys and travel at quieter times where possible.”

Walk & cycle all or part of your journey where possible

What to do to avoid getting caught out

• If you can, consider working from home on strike days (Tue 1 and Thu 3 March)
• If you can, travel later in the day on the days after strikes (Wed 2 and Fri 4 March)
• Allow more time for your journey if you need to travel between 1 and 4 March

London Mayor had to rely on Westminster bail outs

Mr Khan, 51, who is also the chairman of TfL, had to rely on a number of bailouts from Westminster to prevent London Underground and the capital’s buses from grinding to a halt.

That money though came with a number of strings attached, such as a pledge to look at the introduction of driverless Tube trains.

After the Department for Transport snubbed requests for TfL to keep its share of vehicle excise duty, or “road tax,” Mr Khan proposed introducing a £2 “clear air charge” for drivers in the capital.

Also being considered is a so-called boundary charge of up to £5.50 a day levied on motorists entering Greater London.