Commuters in London turned to bikes, buses and boats on Tuesday as a staff strike shut down the British capital’s underground Tube network for a second day.
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With almost no underground trains running until Friday, demand for shared bike services and river transport surged as Londoners looked for alternative ways to get to work, causing longer journeys and crowding on other parts of the transport network.
The London-based Centre for Economics and Business Research estimates the strike will have a direct impact on the city’s economy of £230 million (US$310 million), and cost millions more indirectly.
Lime, which operates electric bikes across the city, said it saw a 58 per cent increase in trips during Monday’s morning peak compared with the same period a week earlier.
“Journeys were longer in both distance and duration, indicating that many riders relied on Lime for their entire commute rather than just the first or last mile,” it said.
Forest, another bike-sharing firm which operates 15,000 e-bikes in London, reported a 100 per cent increase in rides between 7am and 8am on Monday. It said it expected 60,000 active users throughout the day – more than double its usual Monday volume of about 27,000.
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Uber Boat by Thames Clippers, a river bus service operating on the Thames, said its services were “busier than usual”, with extra sailings added, including a shuttle between Canary Wharf and London Bridge.