Britain | The Tube strike

Over a barrel

Why Underground strikes are such a nuisance

THE death of Bob Crow in March has not made the Rail, Maritime and Transport union any less militant. In homage to its departed leader, the union called two long Underground strikes beginning on April 29th and May 5th. Officially, it objects to the shutting of ticket offices, which are less needed now that most people use electronic Oyster cards to pay for travel. Unofficially, those who wish to succeed Crow are determined to show their toughness.

Londoners coped as best they could—packing buses and boats, cycling or walking to work. But the sad fact is that Tube strikes are growing more disruptive. In the past decade passenger journeys have risen by 29%. As jobs become concentrated in central London, more people are travelling from outer suburbia. Between 2003 and 2012 the average number of people entering the Underground system in zone one—the most central—on a weekday morning rose by 23% (see map). The number entering in zone six rose by 41%. Most of the former group can probably walk to work; most of the latter cannot.

The data behind our map come from Transport for London, which runs the Underground. They have been crunched for us by Oliver O’Brien, a researcher at University College London. His elegant website contains much more data about the Tube: http://casa.oobrien.com/tube/

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "Over a barrel"

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