Today, London feels on edge. For the second month in a row, militant transport unions will shut down the Underground system at 6:30pm, leaving Londoners to face seemingly endless queues for buses, inflated Uber prices and an army of occasional cyclists bearing down on them. The estimated cost of a 24-hour strike (this time, over the plans for a 24-hour Tube service) is some £50 million.
It’s time for the government to step in. Currently, the fire service, among others, is regarded as an ‘essential service’, which means a minimum service has to be provided during periods of industrial action while full-scale walkouts are illegal. It is time for the Tube – and potentially the railway network as a whole – to receive the same designation.
The Tube is essential. The hugely damaging effect on the capital caused by a handful of union barons with axes to grind is simply disproportionate to their complaints.
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