London tube shut down again over night shift dispute

Commuters in London on Thursday have to spend much more time to wait for buses or walk to reach their destinations as London tube being shut down again since Wednesday evening.

Tube strike in the city was launched on Wednesday evening and services won't resume until Friday morning.

Members of main trade unions, such as RMT, Aslef and United, walked out as they refused offers from London Underground for workers' pay and conditions for a new 24-hour tube service, which is expected to begin next month.

This is the second strike in a month, the previous one took place on July 8.

To cope with the traffic chaos, over 600 travel ambassadors are working on the streets Thursday to help Londoners, visitors get to their destinations on foot, by bus, by bicycles or by other means.

Around 250 extra buses are being provided to the main commuter corridors and mainline stations, and additional rental bicycle hubs have more bikes available at the busiest locations. In addition, extra river services are also being provided during peak hours on Thursday.

Steve Griffiths, London Underground's chief operating officer, apologized for the strike, saying "I am sorry that the unions have rejected our extremely fair offer outright and that the journeys of our customers will be disrupted today."

It was said the new night tube service to be open in September would support around 2,000 permanent jobs and boost the economy by 360 million pounds (558 million U.S. dollars). Endit