tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/tube-strike-8949/articlesTube strike – The Conversation2016-04-29T08:54:28Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/583902016-04-29T08:54:28Z2016-04-29T08:54:28ZPublic transport is part of the London mayor’s raison d'être – but both main candidates fail to impress<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120529/original/image-20160428-28044-1kxmwol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Each week, the equivalent of <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/tube-improvements/the-future-of-the-tube">two busy tube carriages</a> of people move to London. As London’s population grows, so does the strain on its public transport system. On May 5, the <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/04/21/sadiq-khan-leads-20-london-mayoral-race/">polls predict</a> that London will elect either Labour’s Sadiq Khan or the Conservative’s Zac Goldsmith as the next mayor – and in doing so, endorse the winner’s vision for the capital’s public transport network.</p>
<p>Transport is the area that the mayor has the most say over – indeed, two thirds of the mayor’s annual budget goes towards it (<a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/how-we-work/how-we-are-funded">£11.5bn</a> in 2015/16). But even with such significant powers to play for, both of the key mayoral candidates have largely failed to come up with a visionary, coherent plan to cope with the capital’s major transport issues. </p>
<h2>Freezing fares</h2>
<p>Sadiq Khan’s <a href="http://www.sadiq.london/a_modern_and_affordable_transport_network">headline pledge</a> to freeze public transport fares at 2016 prices for the whole of the mayor’s four-year term is an eye-catching policy (they currently increase <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/how-we-work/how-we-are-funded">in line with inflation</a>, plus 1%). It’s aimed at reducing the transport cost burden for low-income families. Khan estimates the policy’s price tag at £450m for the term – much less than the Transport for London (TfL) estimate of <a href="http://www.london.gov.uk/moderngov/documents/b13740/Minutes%20-%20Appendix%201%20-%20Transcript%20Transport%20for%20London%20Wednesday%2010-Feb-2016%2010.00%20London%20Assemb.pdf?T=9">£1.5bn</a>. Khan also proposes to overhaul the bus fare structure: A one-hour bus pass – unlimited bus trips for an hour instead of paying for each bus separately. </p>
<p>He proposes to pay for it by finding efficiencies within TfL, and reducing the use of consultants and contractors. He would also lease TfL land for development, have TfL bid to run services outside London and sell TfL’s expertise – much like London Transport International, transport consultancy trading arm of TfL’s predecessor, which advised metros around the world from the <a href="http://content.tfl.gov.uk/research-guide-no-10-development-of-organised-transportation-in-london.pdf">mid-1970s to mid-1990s</a>. </p>
<p>It <a href="http://www.london.gov.uk/moderngov/documents/b13740/Minutes%20-%20Appendix%201%20-%20Transcript%20Transport%20for%20London%20Wednesday%2010-Feb-2016%2010.00%20London%20Assemb.pdf?T=9">will be difficult</a> for TfL to absorb the fare freeze cost just by being thrifty, because any efficiencies are already earmarked to bridge the national government’s <a href="http://www.london.gov.uk/moderngov/documents/b13740/Minutes%20-%20Appendix%201%20-%20Transcript%20Transport%20for%20London%20Wednesday%2010-Feb-2016%2010.00%20London%20Assemb.pdf?T=9">£2.8bn cut</a> to TfL’s grants, for the period up to 2020. Any failure to bridge these budget gaps with money-saving measures will mean raising fares, scaling back programmes or striking projects altogether. </p>
<p>Offering concessionary fares to those who struggle to pay for public transport could be a more targeted intervention, without such a high price tag. </p>
<h2>Train take-over</h2>
<p>Both candidates are calling for TfL to take over management of the railways in London. They want to replicate <a href="http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/sites/default/files/research-files/Going%2520Local%2520web_2.pdf">the success</a> of the London Overground; the orbital network created between 2007 and 2012, after TfL took over underused railway routes. The model, which promises more frequent services, greater connectivity and safer, cleaner stations is popular. Last year the <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/devolving_rail_services_to_london-final-report.pdf">Greater London Assembly</a> called for the Overground model to be adopted across South London. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120590/original/image-20160428-28209-1xh0xrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120590/original/image-20160428-28209-1xh0xrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120590/original/image-20160428-28209-1xh0xrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120590/original/image-20160428-28209-1xh0xrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120590/original/image-20160428-28209-1xh0xrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120590/original/image-20160428-28209-1xh0xrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120590/original/image-20160428-28209-1xh0xrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Great success.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The UK government’s Department for Transport (DfT) holds the keys to greater rail devolution. Only it can transfer responsibility for managing the routes to TfL. A recent <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/493754/dft-tfl-rail-prospectus.pdf">joint DfT and TfL publication</a> suggests a move to more TfL involvement in managing London rail services. In theory, Transport for London could adopt the first South London routes in 2018, as <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/478018/nov-2015-rail-franchise-schedule.pdf">franchises expire</a>.</p>
<p>But the success of the London Overground orbital hinged on large scale capital investment. There has been little to no discussion of how these levels of investment might be secured for the south London venture – undermining its potential to be a success from the the outset.</p>
<h2>Crossrail 2</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120203/original/image-20160426-1327-5fuozz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120203/original/image-20160426-1327-5fuozz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=855&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120203/original/image-20160426-1327-5fuozz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=855&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120203/original/image-20160426-1327-5fuozz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=855&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120203/original/image-20160426-1327-5fuozz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1075&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120203/original/image-20160426-1327-5fuozz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1075&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120203/original/image-20160426-1327-5fuozz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1075&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Proposed route for Crossrail 2, as of autumn 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tflpress/21543524163/">Transport for London</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Both Khan and Goldsmith have also pledged to work with government to build <a href="http://crossrail2.co.uk/why-crossrail-2/">Crossrail 2</a> – a rail link running through the centre of London from the South West to the North East. The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transport-for-a-world-city-a-national-infrastructure-commission-report">National Infrastructure Commission</a> recently concluded that without it, London “would grind to a halt”. The project is already being jointly developed by TfL and Network Rail. The government just has committed <a href="https://next.ft.com/content/080d2e62-ea01-11e5-bb79-2303682345c8">£80m of funding</a> towards planning the project. There is widespread support for Crossrail 2 in principle from stakeholders, in particular the <a href="http://londonfirst.co.uk/our-focus/londons-transport-infrastructure/crossrail-2/">business community</a> and <a href="https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/crossrail/june-2014">the public</a>. </p>
<p>It’s estimated to cost between <a href="http://crossrail2.co.uk/funding/">£27bn and £32bn</a> – double the cost of the first Crossrail project. Neither of the candidates have put forward a coherent plan for funding. </p>
<h2>Serving the south</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120204/original/image-20160426-1339-yv3hzj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120204/original/image-20160426-1339-yv3hzj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120204/original/image-20160426-1339-yv3hzj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=810&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120204/original/image-20160426-1339-yv3hzj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=810&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120204/original/image-20160426-1339-yv3hzj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=810&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120204/original/image-20160426-1339-yv3hzj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1019&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120204/original/image-20160426-1339-yv3hzj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1019&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120204/original/image-20160426-1339-yv3hzj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1019&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Proposed Bakerloo line extension.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tflpress/15389199511/sizes/l">Transport for London</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Khan also promises to secure funding for the Bakerloo tube line extension to south London. TfL are already developing a technically detailed case, after it found that <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/december/bakerloo-line-extension-to-improve-transport-links-in-south-london-by-2030">96% of Londoners</a> supported further extension southwards from the current terminus at Elephant and Castle.</p>
<p>Goldsmith promises to start planning the extension, but will prioritise new trains and signalling across the network in the shorter term. But he does commit to extending the tram in south London (Khan considers this a project for the longer-term). TfL has already committed <a href="http://www.london.gov.uk/moderngov/documents/b13740/Minutes%20-%20Appendix%201%20-%20Transcript%20Transport%20for%20London%20Wednesday%2010-Feb-2016%2010.00%20London%20Assemb.pdf?T=9">£100m</a>, but the project has been stalled as contributions of <a href="http://www.london.gov.uk/moderngov/documents/b13740/Minutes%20-%20Appendix%201%20-%20Transcript%20Transport%20for%20London%20Wednesday%2010-Feb-2016%2010.00%20London%20Assemb.pdf?T=9">£200m</a> from the local borough have not yet been secured. Goldsmith does not say whether he would push forward without local contributions. </p>
<h2>Night tube</h2>
<p>London was to get its first <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2014/september/-historic-new-night-tube-service">all-night weekend tube</a> services in <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/news-articles/night-tube-launch-deferred">September 2015</a>. This failed following <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/august/lu-decides-to-defer-launch-of-night-tube-to-allow-successful-conclusion-of-union-talks">disputes between unions and management</a>, which led to strikes. A new start date has not been set, but both candidates have committed to delivering the night tube. Khan pledges to work with the unions, while Goldsmith takes a harder line, saying he’ll clamp down on the unions’ ability to strike if necessary. </p>
<p>Goldsmith’s manifesto proposes to expand the transport services on weekend nights to include the London Overground in 2017 and the Docklands Light Railway by 2021. But – you guessed it – <a href="http://content.tfl.gov.uk/fit-for-the-future.pdf">TfL has already outlined </a> that it seeks to extend the night tube to the Circle, Hammersmith and City, District and Metropolitan line once the modernisation programme is complete. London Overground and the DLR are also set to have night time services at weekends in <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/tube-improvements/the-future-of-the-tube/night-tube">2017 and 2021 respectively</a>. </p>
<p>It’s clear that both candidates are playing it safe by taking their lead from TfL. They are both promising to progress popular investment projects, which are already in the works. Neither has outlined a coherent plan on how to meet growing pressure on the network and finances. Without such a strategy, TfL grant cuts will translate into fare rises, service cuts and deteriorating infrastructure. The hollow rhetoric of efficiency and portfolio development falls short of offering a plan to “keep London moving”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58390/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>For her doctoral research at UCL Nicole receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council via the research programme Transforming the Engineering of Cities. Nicole works on the MacArthur funded research project New Urban Governance looking at transport governance in different cities across the world. This project is hosted at the urban research centre LSE Cities at the London School of Economics. Nicole is also currently supporting the project CREATE, which is looking at the evolution of sustainable transport policies in cities. CREATE is funded by the EU via Horizon 2020.
Nicole is a non-active student member of the Labour party. This article does not reflect the views of any research organisation. </span></em></p>With a fast-growing population, London needs a mayor with a clear vision for public transport. Will it get one?Nicole Badstuber, Researcher in Urban Transport Governance at LSE Cities at the London School of Economics and the Centre for Transport Studies, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/478912015-09-22T13:04:26Z2015-09-22T13:04:26ZCan one day without cars really change our travel habits?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95701/original/image-20150922-16662-cb1lvf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is said that on average, we take <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.674/abstract">66 days</a> to form a new habit. So when an initiative sets out to change our habits in just 24 hours, there’s cause for scepticism. <a href="http://www.worldcarfree.net/wcfd/">World Car-Free Day</a> aims to do just that. The thought is that by closing city centres to cars for one day a year, people will make a long-term switch to alternative modes of transport and help us to address the <a href="https://theconversation.com/cars-are-killing-us-so-how-do-we-wean-ourselves-off-them-47671#comment_792066">many problems</a> caused by our dependence on cars. </p>
<p>Car-free days have been running for almost 20 years, with cities as far afield as Washington, Paris, Brussels, Stockholm and New Delhi participating. And though the impact of these initiatives has not been well evaluated, there are studies which suggest that events which disrupt the transport system can lead to longer term behaviour changes. Strikes and road closures, for example, force people to try something different, and alter their knowledge and perceptions of the travel alternatives on offer. </p>
<p>One <a href="http://www.onestreet.org/images/stories/Disappearing_traffic.pdf">worldwide 2002 study</a> of over 70 road closures due to natural disasters and planned roadworks found that, on average, 11% of vehicles previously using the road could not be found in the surrounding area afterwards. A <a>more recent study</a> on the impact of strike action on the London Underground in February 2014 used data from travel cards to examine travel patterns before, during and after the strike. It found that 5% of travellers carried on using their newly discovered routes after the disruption was over.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95702/original/image-20150922-16692-xj02u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95702/original/image-20150922-16692-xj02u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95702/original/image-20150922-16692-xj02u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95702/original/image-20150922-16692-xj02u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95702/original/image-20150922-16692-xj02u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95702/original/image-20150922-16692-xj02u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95702/original/image-20150922-16692-xj02u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Please use an alternative route.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iancvt55/13088416513/sizes/l">Ian Halsey/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>While these findings sound encouraging, it’s worth questioning whether the changes to travel patterns after a disruption are any greater than the day-to-day variability we see anyway. And if they are, there’s still no guarantee that enough people maintain these changes for long enough to alter overall travel patterns, such as the total kilometres driven from one year to the next.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.disruptionproject.net/">three-year study</a> on these topics <a href="http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/Topics/Workshops/WS2Goodwin.pdf">confirmed that</a> individual travel patterns undergo significant day-to-day and year-to-year churn. For instance, although over half of those who were asked by the researchers before and after the 2012 Olympics in London said they had changed their journeys to work during the games, three quarters said they did not always travel to work the same way on a typical day anyway. </p>
<p>Similarly, half of council employees in York revealed they could not be certain how many days they would travel in to the office in the following week. The study revealed that these variations were due to myriad reasons, from changing family and work schedules, avoiding bad weather or just feeling like making a change. </p>
<h2>Get multi-modal</h2>
<p>But if there’s so much churn and flexibility in the system already, why is it so difficult to achieve deep reductions in car use? For these reductions to materialise, we need more people to avoid taking single occupancy journeys in their car more of the time, so that being “multi-modal” – that is, relying on more than one mode of transport – becomes the norm. </p>
<p>But to achieve this, we’ll need a much broader understanding of how and what shapes people’s travel choices in the first place, and how this varies across locations and societal groups. The three-year disruption study suggests that we should think about these issues in terms of a broader “mobility system”. </p>
<p>The mobility system includes not only the transport system (infrastructure, legislation, fiscal arrangements like charges and fares, and public transport operators), but also the communication system (patterns of work, shopping and socialising as well as the information we use on the go) and the social context (the norms about how things are done, the know-how and resources of those in the system, including workplaces and communities). </p>
<p>At the centre of the mobility system are the activities which each generate travel and are influenced by the institutions and expectations in the system, such as school start and end times, or standardised business hours. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95696/original/image-20150922-16679-1uudmpz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95696/original/image-20150922-16679-1uudmpz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95696/original/image-20150922-16679-1uudmpz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95696/original/image-20150922-16679-1uudmpz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95696/original/image-20150922-16679-1uudmpz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95696/original/image-20150922-16679-1uudmpz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95696/original/image-20150922-16679-1uudmpz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The mobility system.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jillian Anable/Disruption Project</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unfortunately, the supporters of car-free day – like most policy targeting transport patterns – fall into the trap of thinking that altering the transport infrastructure and services is all that’s required to alter travel behaviour. While these initiatives can play a role in changing the behaviour of some people, for one day, occasionally, it is far from adequate to influence longer term changes at the scale required. Instead, we need to make changes across the whole mobility system, to continually reinforce greater uptake of alternative transport methods. </p>
<p>Flexible working hours, which relax rigid time and place constraints is an important part of the solution, as is wraparound childcare (such as before- and after-school clubs) to allow flexible schedules. Transport system solutions include payment systems to cater for multi-modal journeys such as the <a href="https://www.sqills.com/en/cases/mobility-mixx/mixx-backoffice-platform">Mobility Mixx card</a> in the Netherlands, which can be used to pay for all public transport, taxis, car pool, bike and car rental and park-and-ride tickets. Another option is seasonal reallocation of road space to pedestrian spaces or non-motorised road users as they did <a href="http://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/interim-design-strategies/interim-public-plazas/">in New York</a>. </p>
<p>We need to think more carefully about how, where and when activities are carried out, and then look at how transport provision fits with that. Only then could car-free days go from being rare annual events to part of making non-car journeys more likely, more of the time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47891/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jillian Anable receives funding from EPSRC, ESRC and the Energy Technologies Institute. She is affiliated to The Campaign for Better Transport and Greener Journeys as a member of their Advisory Boards. </span></em></p>World Car-Free day has at its heart a noble aim - but the evidence suggests that a one off event can’t really make a world of difference.Jillian Anable, Professor of Transport and Energy Demand, University of AberdeenLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/420962015-05-20T17:04:24Z2015-05-20T17:04:24ZStrike force: why railway unions hit harder than the rest<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82431/original/image-20150520-11456-6vs6ch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Stopped in its tracks.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_Main_Line#/media/File:Pendolino_at_Milton_Keynes_Central.JPG">Nicholas Hair/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Up to 25,000 Network Rail workers are set to take <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/20/network-rail-bank-holiday-train-strike-warning-passengers">24-hour strike action</a> from 5pm on Monday May 25, a public holiday. This would not only be the first national rail strike for 20 years, but also the first national strike under the newly elected Conservative government. The dispute over pay and job security – embraced by the RMT, TSSA and Unite unions – could also involve a 48-hour refusal from midnight on Sunday to work overtime, additional hours, extended shifts, or to undertake callouts. </p>
<p>In the wake of <a href="http://www.itv.com/news/story/2015-05-20/network-rail-warns-passengers-to-brace-for-bank-holiday-strike/">marathon talks</a> involving the conciliation service Acas, and a legal challenge by Network Rail over alleged TSSA ballot “defects”, it is possible the industrial action could be called off. But if not it will have a massive impact on millions of passengers commuting to work on Tuesday morning, as well as disrupting freight distribution. </p>
<p>The threatened strike comes in the wake of the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30747185">Conservatives’ election pledge</a> to dramatically tighten up industrial action laws. The party proposes that for action to be taken, there should be a minimum of 50% participation by union members in the ballot. And unions of “core” public services would need at least 40% of all those members eligible to vote, to vote in favour of industrial action. </p>
<p>This legislation is likely to have a devastating effect on the ability of many unions to take lawful industrial action. Yet ironically, in this dispute, the majority RMT vote outstripped both thresholds, with an 80% majority for strike action on a 60% turnout, meaning that 48% of those eligible to vote, voted in favour. </p>
<p>The response of UK trade unions to the global financial crisis and government austerity measures has so far been rather muted, compared with the wave of general strikes that has swept across Europe since 2009. Despite occasional large-scale, one-day, public-sector strikes, activity has declined to its <a href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/search/index.html?newquery=Industrial+action">lowest-ever levels</a>. </p>
<p>This trend is accompanied by the steepest-ever sustained decline in union membership and a substantial fall in collective bargaining. The decline of the unions has been compounded by dramatic changes in the structure of employment and the composition of the labour force, with part-time flexible work and zero hours contracts in the private services industries much more common. As it stands the prospects for union renewal look bleak. </p>
<h2>Militancy has worked for RMT</h2>
<p>Of course, there are exceptions to this general picture. The most notable of these is the RMT: over the past 10 years the RMT’s “brand image” has essentially been that of a striking union, with literally dozens of strikes affecting the London Underground and the national railway network. Almost every single one of the union’s industrial action ballots has returned overwhelming majorities – although not always at a level that would meet the Conservative government’s new thresholds.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3622276.stm">Many commentators</a> have dismissed the RMT’s militant trade union model as being outmoded, destructive and self-defeating in the 21st-century world of transformed work and employment relations. But through the threat and use of strike action, the RMT has been able to force bargaining concessions from employers, resulting in both the delivery and defence of real improvements to their members’ pay and conditions of work. Of course, whether this will apply in the case of the current dispute with Network Rail – a central government body – remains to be seen.</p>
<p>Likewise, the RMT has been able to grow its union membership within a context of declining membership for many other unions. Indeed, <a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/01425451211248523">there is evidence</a> of a direct relationship between union militancy, effectiveness in delivering collective bargaining gains, membership growth and the development of relatively vibrant forms of union organisation and representation. In contrast, the more accommodating forms of unionism have often proved to be less successful. </p>
<h2>Bargaining power</h2>
<p>The strategic importance of the transport industry has placed the RMT and its members in an unusually strong bargaining position. Both the railway and underground systems are vulnerable to strike action, because their tightly integrated service networks which are not easy to substitute with other means of transport. This vulnerability means that any strike – or even the threat of a strike – can have a much greater and more immediate impact than in many other industrial sectors. </p>
<p>The large, predominantly manual workforce of the railway sector means that there is a strong sense of occupational identity and relatively high union membership throughout the industry. These factors also help to create a favourable environment for RMT members to engage in strike activity. This stands in contrast to the more subdued response in many other industries, where unions find themselves without such bargaining strength. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, despite the fact even large-scale public sector strikes by teachers, firefighters, civil servants and others do not directly affect employers, the economy or government to anything like the same degree, they can still potentially have a significant disruptive impact. When strongly supported by other groups in society and mass campaigns, they can have political influence which can potentially force governments to make U-turns, as was the case with <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/dec/20/danny-alexander-public-sector-pensions">massive public sector strikes</a> over pensions reform in 2011.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42096/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ralph Darlington has previously received research funding relevant to this article from the British Academy. He is an executive member of the British Universities Industrial Relations Association, secretary of the Manchester Industrial Relations Society, and a supporter of Socialist Worker.</span></em></p>The bank holiday strikes may cause transport chaos, but they’ll pack a big punch for industry workers.Ralph Darlington, Professor of Employment Relations and Director of Postgraduate Research, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.