The underground network was effectively closed, with few stations open and no trains except on the Metropolitan line and a few shuttles on the outer branches of the Central and District lines.
Queues built up at bus stops from early morning and roads were congested from 5am as travellers took advice to stagger their journeys, according to AA Roadwatch. The main pedestrian routes through the central parks, along the river and across the main bridges turned into walking motorways, as thousands of workers tried to complete their journeys on foot.
More than 1m people a day commute to London and more than 3m journeys are made on the tube every day
The Corporation of London said thousands of businesses were badly affected. It estimated the strike could have cost the capital £100m in lost production and commerce.
The RMT strike was a protest over job security and safety in the government's controversial plans to run the tube through a public-private partnership (PPP).
Members of the train drivers' union, Aslef, had decided against strike action but most members refused to cross the picket lines of the RMT, whose members include 38% of tube drivers as well as signal, station and maintenance staff.
London's mayor, Ken Livingstone, under fire for refusing to criticise the strike, left his home at 7.55am to walk the seven miles to his office in Westminster and took two hours to arrive. He took the opportunity to condemn the PPP plans again. "If the maintenance organisation is broken up, there will be accidents," he said.
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