Limited tube services resumed on Wednesday as more staff reported for work on the London Underground, while RMT strikes continued to disrupt the capital for a third day this week. No talks have taken place to resolve the dispute, with the RMT now demanding a summit with London Mayor Sadiq Khan over its campaign for a shorter working week.
Some services, including parts of the Central, Northern and District lines, were partly running on Wednesday afternoon as more staff attended work than earlier in the week. Transport for London (TfL) hopes to run more trains again on Thursday, when controllers and signallers walk out on the final day of strikes.
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey, speaking at TUC Congress, called on Khan to meet the union. He said: 'Stop going on social media, invite us to the meeting, let’s have a discussion, because I want to know what is going on in London.' He warned further strikes could follow, adding: 'We’ve got towards the end of a week of strike action, we’re open to negotiations, but there are no invitations to sit down with TfL. We’ll have to see what the next move is.'
Dempsey said the RMT wanted to make 'meaningful progress' towards its 32-hour week ambition and was prepared to 'compromise and discuss' in negotiations. A TfL spokesperson said talks had not taken place as the RMT’s demand for a reduction in the working week had been ruled out as impractical and unaffordable.
Some of the gridlock seen during pre-Covid tube strikes was averted as commuters worked from home and used the Elizabeth line, opened in 2022. Buses, the Elizabeth line and London Overground have taken on much of the strain, collectively carrying about 1 million extra passengers daily, according to TfL’s contactless data. Overall usage of TfL’s modes has been down about 20% compared with normal numbers, with many people either staying home or cycling.
The capital’s ebike providers have been big beneficiaries of the strikes. Lime reported an upsurge of 78% more hires than the previous Wednesday, while Forest reported Tuesday morning rush-hour rides at four times normal levels and 20,000 new app downloads on Monday alone. TfL said its Santander cycle scheme saw almost 20,000 hires by 3pm, up 93% on the usual figure. Meanwhile, Uber-branded Thames Clipper boats reported total passenger numbers up 66% on Tuesday compared with a week earlier.
