STRIKE ACTION: London’s black cabs play ‘VITAL ROLE’ during industrial action, says TfL Commissioner

London’s black cabs play a ‘VITAL ROLE’ helping passengers move around London during days of heavy industrial action says Transport for London (TfL) Commissioner.

It was also noted that having highly trained taxi marshals ready to step in at short notice, allows for a swift and efficient service when assessing shared journeys to maximise capacity in licensed taxis.

ASLEF strike action at seven train operators across the country will significantly disrupt some routes today. This includes the London Overground network, where there will be no service due to strike action from members of the ASLEF union who work for Arriva Rail London.

There will also be no Night Overground services on the evening of 30 July and the early hours of 31 July. Customers who use London Overground services should use alternative routes to complete their journeys.

Andy Byford, TfL Commissioner, said in his latest TfL Commissioner’s Report: “Any industrial action on the rail and Tube network causes widespread disruption

for passengers and taxis play a vital role in helping passengers move around the capital.

“As the demand for taxis typically exceeds the supply of vehicles, we have deployed taxi marshals at key mainline stations in London so they can put effective taxi sharing arrangements in place.

“All taxi marshals have completed learning, or are studying, the Knowledge of London so are quickly able to assess a passenger’s destination and group passengers together into one taxi. This proved popular with passengers and drivers during the strike action in March and June as queues for taxis were well managed. Due to the clear benefits of this approach, a procurement exercise is now under way to be able

to call up these services for any future industrial action.”