Union threatens more strikes

They walked, they drove, they stood and waited for buses that never came. And as Londoners did their stoical best to get to work despite the strike, the man who brought the Tube network to a halt warned: This could just be the beginning.

With almost the entire Underground shut down by strike action from 8pm yesterday, the million or so commuters who use the Tube to get to work were forced on to roads which were too crowded in the first place. People fought for taxis or watched helplessly as buses drove past, too full to take on passengers.

It was, inevitably, chaos - a chaos compounded by the absence of information staff at Victoria, where commuters looking for advice on how to proceed with their journeys were confronted by a sign showing London Underground's mastery of understatement.

"Some members of the RMT trades union may take action which could affect services on the Tube," it read.

Vicky Band, 22, from Maida Vale, arrived at 6.30am from a one-week holiday in Ibiza with no money for a taxi and no idea how to get home.

"When did this happen, why didn't they tell us they were going on strike?" she asked.

Arriving at Victoria station with her husband after a holiday in Cyprus, Karen Sloots wished she had never come home. She said: "That's the UK all over, let's be honest it's not as bad as this anywhere else. This is pathetic, we might go live in Cyprus. There's no one here to tell us the Tube was closed and no one said a word at Gatwick Airport either."

By 6.30am only one Tube worker was visible at Victoria station to hand out walking maps and bus route numbers to the hundreds of people passing through the station. Finally, around 7am, Tube staff in orange vests turned up to help the bewildered passengers.

At least some came prepared. Maria Louisa Estevan from Cordoba in Spain said she had received a phone call from a friend telling her of the strike and brought good walking shoes to begin her trek to north London.

In the midst of all the mayhem, Londoners did what they do best: they queued. By 8am, at Victoria, more than 60 commuters were lining up at a cab rank that had barely had any taxis all morning.

Yet despite all appearances it was, according to police, better than last time. Anyone who could was avoiding the area and a police spokesman said: "I think they learnt their lesson from last time when it was absolutely chaotic."

At King's Cross station desperate passengers fought for the precious few buses and taxis. Mary Evans, 31, from Mill Hill, was trying to get to the West End for an important business meeting. She said: "I got the Thameslink train in today and I must say it is normally quite reliable. I have to be in the office by 8.15am so I have allowed an extra two hours for my journey.

"Many people in the office have taken today off, I had to come in I have commitments. I am really annoyed with the RMT union. We are being told it

is for safety but I just don't believe it. We are suffering because they want higher wages, it is simple as that."

Not all Londoners were suffering, however. Cab driver Steven Bill, 47, from Brentwood in Essex, said: "I was out extra early this morning to do my bit to help the public get to work. The strike is good for us cabbies, I almost doubled my earnings the last time unions took action. But the traffic is horrendous."

A rail worker at King's Cross who - perhaps wisely - wished to remain anonymous said: "I support the action one hundred per cent. What the public must remember is this is a safety issue and has absolutely nothing to do with pay. We are fed up with fat cats putting profit before the public and we had to take action. There was no alternative.

"The short-term effects may be that the public turn against us but in the long run their safety will benefit."

At Charing Cross, Cherry Taylor of Abbey Wood said she had waited more than 40 minutes for a bus. Normally she would catch the Tube. She left home at 4.50am even though she normally leaves at 5.45. "Having to get the first train was a nightmare. I've been standing here since five past six waiting for a bus."

Ms Taylor, a catering manager who works in Hammersmith, said she expected things to get worse. "It's going to be even worse this afternoon, I'll just shut up shop ASAP."

Peter Evans, an electrician from Crows End, in Kent, said he normally arrived in Paddington at 8am but expected to get there at "10 or 11 maybe" this morning.

He had considered taking the day off but said: "I won't get paid for it so I have got to come in. But I think most office workers have taken the day off."

Imran Bhatti, who comes from Lewisham and works at a television production company in Stamford Brook, was waiting on The Strand for a bus for an hour this morning before he finally got one just after 7.15am. "I normally leave home at seven o'clock and this morning I left at 5.30," he said.

"I've been waiting here since about 6.15 and every bus that has come has been full. I start at half past eight so there's no hope of that. It's probably going to be at least two to three buses to get there."