At the foot of Big Ben, thousands of cyclists fizz through the morning air on London’s riverside cycle path. Their bikes, a blur of black, blue and piercing lime green, carry a peloton of commuters, the scale of which the city has rarely seen. Many of those out riding, on any other day, would otherwise be sat in stuffy Tube carriages. This week, strikes have forced them above ground.
Bike providers such as Lime, Forest and Transport for London (TfL) have all recorded a significant increase in usage this week, as London’s ‘strikelysts’ respond to the disrupted Underground network. Called by the RMT union, the action began on Monday, with demands relating to pay and working conditions.
