Train strikes: How did passengers cope with day one?

All the advance notice and media coverage of the biggest national train strike in decades seems to have had an effect – many passengers seem to be heeding the advice not to travel by train.

During the Tuesday morning rush hour, many train stations across the country were virtually empty.

At Manchester Piccadilly just before 0700 BST there were more pigeons than people and the station’s shutters stayed down, while a similar picture was seen at Liverpool Lime Street as pickets formed.

At Glasgow Central Station, normally Scotland’s busiest station, the departure board and waiting room were empty at 05:30. ScotRail, which is not involved in the strike, has canceled 90% of its trains because it relies on Network Rail workers.

Less than 10% of normal services were running in Wales. In 2020, it was estimated that only 3% of commuting in Wales was by train, compared to an average of 10% across the UK and 45% in London. But drivers have been warned to expect a surge in vehicles on the roads – and there have been reports of slow traffic across Wales during rush hour.

In London there were very few people at normally bulky stations like Euston and King’s Cross. But the passengers who decided to travel were aware of the strikes, were well prepared and allowed extra time for their journey.

Separately, London Underground workers in the capital went on strike over pensions and job losses, with service suspended on the vast majority of lines. According to Transport for London, the tube had recorded 80,000 entries and exits across the network by mid-morning, down 95% from last Tuesday.

In London, Santander bike hire was up 46% on Tuesday by 10am from the previous day, while bus trips were up 7% as people looked for alternative modes of transport.

Some of those who chose to take a taxi had to pay more. Uber users in London saw prices rise, with a three-mile journey from Paddington to King’s Cross costing an estimated £27 at 08:45, according to the PA news agency. But by 10.30am the charge had dropped to just under £15.

Ride-hailing apps like Uber increase fares when demand increases.

The AA said there were “traffic hotspots” on the M25 in south-east England and on roads near London, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow as people switched from trains to roads.

Location technology company TomTom said congestion was higher by 11am in several urban areas than at the same time last week.

However, the National Traffic Operations Center for National Highways said motorways across England were marginally quieter than a normal Tuesday.

A busier peak was noted around 09:00 when reports of congestion near the city center car parks began to emerge, but after that the situation became quieter than normal.

What was new about this rail strike was that many commuters are now set up to work from home if necessary.

While some bosses no doubt found this frustrating, it means the impact for some workers is not as severe as it has been in the past.

Frank Bird, a senior network planner at Highways England, said in the post-pandemic world people would have come up with a much better plan B when they couldn’t come to work and for many that means working from home, instead of driving.

Not everyone can get their work done remotely, and not everyone has the opportunity to drive when trains aren’t available.

Vivienne O’Connor, who lives in Ireland, managed to catch the last train to her cousin’s funeral in England on Monday night.

After catching the ferry to Holyhead, she took the train to Wrexham where a friend picked her up and drove her to Shropshire.

But now the strikes have stranded them.

“The original intention was that I wanted to travel back after the funeral on Thursday, but of course that can’t happen now because there are no trains,” she says.

“So I had to change my arrangements. I’ll stay with my brother – who knows how many days until everything is sorted out.”

Meanwhile, businesses are also being impacted by commuters choosing to work from home.

Fabio Manara, who owns a cafe at Debden railway station in Essex, said the strikes had meant he lost 80% of his business on Tuesday.

The store is open six days a week and it expects to lose £300 a day because of the strikes.

“I opened two months before the pandemic and got help then, but since then there have been so many strikes that it’s going to be very difficult,” he said.

Another coffee shop owner, John Kelly, who is based at Farncombe railway station in Surrey, says the strikes have been “disastrous” for him.

“70% of our business is commuting and when we don’t have that… we make coffee for ourselves and twiddle our thumbs,” he says. “It’s pretty soul crushing, to be honest.”

There is also a domino effect on businesses in city centers as workers stay at home and leisure schedules change, with the hospitality sector being hardest hit.

UK hospitality boss Kate Nicholls warned the strikes could cost the sector up to £540million.

According to retail tracker Springboard, footfall in central London at 1pm was 27% lower than last Tuesday. In city centers outside the capital it was 11% lower.

However, outbound London footfall was less affected, falling just 6%, while in the market towns it was down 2%. Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, suggested the data reflected how people working from home found it easier to visit their local high streets during the day.

The RMT union, whose members are on strike, has apologized to passengers for the disruption.

But General Secretary Mick Lynch says the union’s members are “leading the way for all workers in this country who are fed up with their pay and conditions being cut”.

The RMT and rail employers are due to hold fresh talks on Wednesday to settle the dispute, with the government and rail companies arguing the industry needs to modernize its labor practices to survive.

But with more strikes planned for Thursday and Saturday – and the rest of the week also affected by the impact – the disruption to passengers is expected to continue.

Additional reporting from BBC Transport correspondent Katy Austin