East Croydon commuters and holidaymakers faced a morning of long delays and cancellations on Tuesday as they tried to get to Central London and Gatwick Airport during the biggest set of rail strikes in decades.
Taxi drivers outside East Croydon also said they’d had a very quiet morning as people avoided trains and likely opted to work from home instead.
Bharti Kikahbhai, 56, was checking her phone to work out the quickest way to get to work at the Royal Courts of Justice.
What would usually be a 25-minute train to City Thameslink and short walk was looking like it would take her more than an hour, and that is if the trains came or she could get on a bus at London Bridge.
Ms Kikahbhai said: “There is nothing running, I started to look at 7.30am and it was saying two hours.”
She added that she had sympathy with the rail workers but said: “I think they should think of something else, possibly a partial strike where the mornings were not affected.
"It is the [pay increase] percentage that we get and we were on a pay freeze as well for a couple of years. Everyone is in the same position.”
Oshane Witter, 33, a self employed electrician was on his way to work and said he would be giving himself extra time to travel to work this week.
He said: “Everybody needs a pay increase because everything is going up, I can support the strike but it does affect people. I have to get up and leave earlier so it means less time with my family.”
Eric Chalman, 77, had come to East Croydon on the bus from Coulsdon which he said was busier than usual.
He said: “I couldn’t get the train this morning so I got the bus.
"It was fairly busy, I know there are a lot of people who can work from home but it affects those who can’t. I think the government should negotiate with them in a conventional way.”
Eddie Crinnegan, 65, was about to set off on a ramblers walk from the station.
He supported the striking rail workers.
He said: “I am fully behind it, it is not just the crew it is the admin workers and everybody, they have only had very small pay rises for three years.
“It is about safety too, I used to travel into town every day and it was horrendous. I didn’t feel particularly safe on trains in the morning because I was like a sardine.”
John, 38, was worried he would have to pay £70 for a cab to Gatwick to catch his flight when he saw the train he was aiming for had just been cancelled.
He said: “I don’t support the strikes it is rubbish.” Jan, 65, was also an opponent of the strikes. She said: “I know people need more money but to be quite honest I think they’ve got blooming cheek.”
But she didn’t think the impact of the strikes would be as severe as many people can now work from home.
She added: “People have adjusted their lives it is not going to affect people in the way it would have.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here