Passengers in London are facing severe disruption as Tube workers and some bus drivers go on strike
Transport for London (TfL) is advising people to avoid travelling today, with services also affected tomorrow morning
It is the fifth time RMT members on London Underground have walked out for 24 hours this year in a dispute over job cuts
Bus drivers from the Unite union employed by London United are striking for 48 hours, affecting services in west and south-west London and parts of Surrey
People are also being warned that rail services will be slow to recover this morning after the latest national strike on Thursday
Today's action comes ahead of another UK-wide rail strike on Saturday
Barry Caffrey
Reporting from Hammersmith station
I've been at Hammersmith station in the last while and there's just a couple of tourists looking on.
It’s generally quiet in the station this morning - there are people waiting for buses but no queues.
There’s no Tube at all running from here but it appears it's mainly tourists who have been affected, rather than commuters.
Yes. Unite's London bus strike continues for a second day.
Plus, there will be more widespread disruption to the UK rail network on Saturday, as the RMT and TSSA go walk out again.
The effect on services is expected to be the same as 18 August, although some services will run on one of the days but not the other. Disruption is likely to continue into Sunday morning.
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Tom Edwards
Transport Correspondent
Image source, Getty ImagesOutside Kings Cross railway station I get the impression, yes there is disruption and frustration but its quieter as it's a Friday in August.
So London is not as busy anyway with commuters.
So its a different kind of traveller getting caught up in the disruption - tourists, leisure travellers and cricket fans.
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Image source, EPALet's bring you some comments from RMT general secretary Mick Lynch who has been out and about this morning joining colleagues in west London on a picket line.
He says there is a "big stalemate" between the government and the London's City Hall over the funding of the London Underground - adding that the union had been shut out of talks.
Speaking in Acton Lynch said: "There have been talks lots and lots of times.
"There's been a whole series of talks, but we are excluded from the talks, because the main discussion is going on between the Government and the Mayor's office and they won't even disclose the numbers involved, which runs into billions of pounds.
"Essentially, Mayor (Sadiq) Khan is offering our members' terms and conditions as a hostage to get the funding of the railway, and the bus services as well, the whole of TfL pushed downwards."
"We've got to have a settlement that allows the people of London to get a decent transport system and the workers on that system to be assured of their future."
Turning to the roads around London now, where traffic is heavier than this day last week as a result of the reduced transport services.
Figures from location technology firm TomTom show a sharp rise in road congestion in the capital this morning due to the Tube strike.
At 9am, the congestion level was 40%, compared with 26% at the same time last week.
The figures represent the proportion of additional time required for journeys compared with free-flow conditions.
Harry Low
BBC London News
"Everybody thinks we love it because we get loads of fares," says black cab driver Jenny Winters, who fully supports the workers' right to strike despite the inconvenience.
"But in actual fact it's a very stressful day. Everybody is stressed and upset they can't get where they want to go and we feel we can't get them where they want to go.
"It's not good for anybody but I do feel that people are striking for a reason. It's a difficult balance to strike.
"Fingers crossed they'll find some sort of deal soon."
How has business been?
"You often find on a Friday, it gets busier later on in the day," she adds.
"Maybe people will still be coming in for a weekend thing later on and they'll need us so I'll just have to hang around and hope that business picks up. It's a bit slow at the moment!"
Sameena Misbahuddin
Reporting from Liverpool Street
Like much of the Tube network this morning Liverpool Street station is much quieter than normal.
Lots of staff are on hand outside to help and advise travellers who are stuck.
The taxi rank has a long queue and cabs are only arriving every few minutes.
Usually there would be plenty for people ready and waiting.
But, wait times are not too bad – people say they have been waiting about 10 or 15 minutes in the queue to get taxi and they have been telling me they knew about the strikes in advance.
Harry Low
BBC London News
Fares are currently higher on ride-sharing apps due to increased demand.
Uber and Bolt are both reporting rises as a result of the industrial action on the Tube and bus network.
Simon Jones
Reporting from Ealing Broadway
Ealing Broadway station is incredibly quiet for what would normally be the Friday morning rush hour.
The screen inside the station tells the story: all underground lines are suspended or part suspended.
The new Elizabeth Line is suffering minor delays. It’s left some passengers scratching their heads, wondering how they will get to work.
One man told me he needed to get to the City for important meetings. He didn’t know whether to wait in the hope he might be able to get on a train, or shell out for a taxi instead. He was furious with the RMT union.
Another commuter was trying to get to Oxford Street for work, but he told me he understood why staff were taking strike action to stand up for their rights.
The buses that are leaving from outside the station are pretty full, but some aren’t running at all.
Many commuters though will have opted to stay at home - or perhaps decided to walk or hire a bike, if they didn’t have too far to go.
Image source, PA MediaSome comments to bring you now from the mayor of London who has expressed his "extreme frustration".
Sadiq Khan adds: "This will have a serious impact on London’s businesses and commuters, at a time when we’re working to get more passengers back on to the network and boost the capital’s economic recovery.
"TfL have done everything they can to avoid this disruption going ahead and I’ve urged the unions to call off this action and to work with TfL to lobby the government for a long-term funding deal that is fair to Londoners and our heroic transport workers.
"I encourage Londoners to listen to TfL's latest travel advice and avoid travelling on the Underground, and only travel if essential on the rest of the network."
Image source, PA MediaIt's not just Tube workers who are on strike today - over in south west London more than 1,600 bus drivers are also taking industrial action also in a dispute over pay.
Unite union says the action is in response to bus firm London United offering a pay increase of 3.6% in 2022 and a further 4.2% raise next year.
Officials have argued that the soaring rate of inflation means the proposal amounts to a "real-terms pay cut".
The industrial action is affecting workers based at the following depots:
Rob Oxley
BBC Radio London
A very limited service is running on three Underground lines.
The Central Line isn't running through Central London with no service from White City to Liverpool Street but a limited service is operating at the ends of the line in the suburbs.
The District Line is running between West Ham and Upminster.
Whilst the Northern Line has a reduced service Golders Green to Edgware and High Barnet to East Finchley.
The state of the TfL network via TfL open data
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Empty central line Tube train
Here's a reminder about which services in the capital are affected by the strikes:
London Underground: Severe disruption on all lines and little to no services throughout the day with no Night Tube
London Overground: Late start. No Night Overground
Elizabeth line: Normal service from 07:00 BST on central, east and west routes, with some disruption after 22:30
Trams: Reduced service
DLR: Services into Bank running between 07:00 and 18:30 with all other services running normally
Buses: Services affected in west and south west London and parts of Surrey with no Night Bus on impacted routes
Industrial action can often divide opinion, so we've been asking people what they think about the latest round of strikes.
Image source, PA MediaThe TSSA union - whose members are not involved in today's walkouts but part of Thursday and Saturday's rail strikes - is also seeking improved pay and conditions for workers.
Organising Director Luke Chester says the union is in dispute with different firms about various issues and that a ballot for industrial action by London Underground staff is likely "at some point in the future".
"Basically, we have a major crisis in this country, we have a crisis with the cost of living...we need a pay rise that meets the cost of living," he tells BBC London.
He says that meanwhile, the government is looking to make "drastic cuts to services and to think like maintenance within the railway industry".
Chester acknowledges that there should be modernisation within the rail industry but also "a just transition to a safer, greener transport system" and not the plan being proposed "which is a lot worse for passengers and members".
We've been outside Victoria station this morning and spoke to Eugene Lynch who is heading to Gatwick Airport.
Today's strike has meant him getting up two hours earlier than normal, but says he fully supports the strike action.
Harry Low
BBC London News
Yesterday's railway strike means more people are using trains today.
It's thronging at Euston mainline station - where the first train left for Blackpool North at 07:43.
By contrast, it's deserted at the Tube station where the shutters remain firmly shut.
