Millions endure rush hour misery

Commuters have been piling onto packed buses

Millions of commuters are struggling to get home as a 24-hour strike by Tube workers continues.

Only 15 of London Underground's 600 drivers reported for work on Wednesday as part of a joint strike by the RMT and Aslef unions over pay.

Although the strike ends officially at 2000 BST, the chaos will continue as services are unlikely to return to normal until Thursday morning.

With buses full in central London, many travellers have been walking, driving or squeezing onto mainline trains instead.

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Police officers patrolled Shepherd's Bush Green bus stop and Hammersmith Broadway as a safety precaution because of the numbers of people trying to board buses.

And traffic was heavy on approach roads to London, particularly the M4 and A4 as commuters switched to their cars.

Why are they not applying in their thousands for a position with LUL?

John, UK

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One sandwich bar worker told reporters: "I left home at 0350 BST and I arrived at 0600 BST by taking two buses and by walking 20 minutes, whereas normally it takes 30 minutes by Tube.

"I know that I won't have a bus for going back tonight."

Police were called to Edgware Road Tube station in north London when managers complained about "aggressive picketing".

A second strike by the two unions is planned for next Tuesday.

'Mingy'

Aslef leader Mick Rix said the union had not wanted to strike, and would have been prepared to take the matter to an independent arbitrator.

But he said London Underground, which imposed a 3% rise on its workers after the unions rejected it, had refused to go to arbitration.

Driver and RMT member Gerard Vickers, 43, said his pay was about to rise to £31,274, but that the 3% pay offer was "mingy".

"[It] is not enough when you put it into the context of the conditions of service.

"We work most bank holidays, weekends and extremely unsocial hours in a dirty and hostile environment. This package has been imposed upon us."

I absolutely 100% regret what is happening to the travelling public but I have to say that the blame for this dispute lies fairly and squarely on LU's doorstep

RMT leader Bob Crow

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he backed the workers' right to strike.

He said: "If you have got a management that won't negotiate the only thing a workforce can then do is strike."

But London Underground (LU) insisted the rise was good.

LU said there was no more money, and said managers had already been to the conciliation service three times to try to settle the dispute.

It added that while few drivers turned up for work, about 60% of station staff had done so.

Spokesman Nigel Holness told BBC London: "I personally employ 2,000 staff and they are all saying to me they do not really understand what this dispute is all about."