Shut: Blackhorse Road station on the Tube strike on March 1
(Picture: Ross Lydall)The full impact of the two Tube strikes last week has been revealed, with figures showing that passenger numbers fell to only four per cent of normal levels.
The 160,000 journeys recorded on the first of the two strike days was the lowest number of daily trips on the Tube since the peak of the first wave of the pandemic in May 2020, when the capital was in lockdown.
Data published by the Department for Transport on Wednesday also revealed that the RMT walk-out also resulted in fewer journeys on each day following a strike day.
This was a consequence of Transport for London’s inability to run a full service during the morning peak hours – and will have exacerbated its losses in fares income caused by the two 24-hour stoppages.
The RMT had called its 10,000 members out on strike in protest at the axing of up to 600 station staff jobs and feared changes to pensions and working conditions as TfL strives to comply with Government demands to save millions and break even by the end of 2022/23.
TfL chiefs called the action “completely unnecessary” but RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said his members were “not prepared to take a hammering” to pay for the funding crisis at TfL.
More than 200 stations were closed, including all four stations serving Oxford Street.
Weekly figures from the DfT show the number of Tube journeys on both Tuesday March 1 and Thursday March 3 reached four per cent of normal, or pre-pandemic, levels.
This equated to 160,000 Tube journeys on the Tuesday and 170,000 journeys on the Thursday - compared with 2.58m and 2.83m respectively seven days earlier.
On Wednesday March 2, they returned to 52 per cent of normal and on Friday March 4 to 54 per cent of normal – both well down on the 67 per cent figure seen on both days a week earlier.
The data also shows that bus passenger numbers on the Tube strike days were 84 per cent – up on the 77 and 79 per cent on the corresponding days a week earlier.
This is confirmation of the battle many commuters faced in trying to board a bus to make their way to work or back home in the evening.
TfL was able to run some services on each of the strike days but these were largely limited to outlying sections of the Underground, where lines run above ground and stations can be opened with few staff present.
No further strikes have been announced by the RMT but more action is likely, with the next potential flashpoint coming after the review into the TfL pension scheme that is being headed by former TUC chief Sir Brendan Barber is submitted to the Government by March 31.
The figures could strengthen the hand of Tube unions in opposing any changes to pensions as they indicate how walkouts can bring the Underground to a near total shutdown.
A TfL spokesperson said: “We appreciate that travelling around London during the recent strikes was difficult for everyone and we are very sorry to all those caught up in last week’s disruption. Strikes like these have a huge impact on people’s lives and they also damage the businesses that have been trying so hard to get back on their feet after two hugely challenging years.
“During the strike, our bus services had an increased ridership of 85 per cent of pre-pandemic levels a 13 per cent increase from the same day the preceding week and we also had a 486 per cent increase in Santander Cycles hires compared to the same day in March 2019.
“We know our customers and our city deserve better than this, which is why we’re urging the RMT to work constructively with us so we can find a resolution to this dispute.”
