Ask: NUS Economists

The good that can come from strikes and pandemics

RMT union members picket outside Victoria Station in London on June 21, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS
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A: In February 2014, London Underground workers conducted a brief strike, disrupting train services and closing several stations. Three days later, when normal service resumed, not all commuters resumed their pre-strike travel patterns.

Five per cent of Underground users changed their commute permanently. Apparently, their original schedules were less than optimal. Forced by the strike to experiment with new travel patterns, they found better ways of getting to their destination.

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