Strike Immobilizes London’s Subways

Some rode new bicycles and some walked, despite an early rain. Other Londoners shared cabs with strangers as a new strike crippled the subway system on Monday.

The one-day subway drivers strike was the sixth this month on the system - known as the Tube - which carries 1.6 million passengers a day. Only nine of 441 trains were running Monday.

Cars jammed main routes into the city, and commuters waited in long lines in hopes of squeezing onto crowded double-decker buses. Bicycle shops reported brisk sales.

The unions - the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Fireman and the Rail Maritime and Transport Union - are protesting over hours and pay.