TORONTO — A strike shut down most Toronto public transport on Monday, filling the streets of the city with cars and forcing some 700,000 commuters to find different ways to get to work.
Subway, bus and streetcar services were all out of service because of the wildcat strike, which centers on a dispute over working hours for maintenance workers. Commuters shared cars, struggled to find taxis or walked or biked to work.
"This strike is illegal," Toronto Mayor David Miller told CBC television. "This strike was unlawful right from the beginning and we are hoping they will go back to work without any further ado."
The Ontario Labour Board issued a cease and desist order in response to what it called an "unlawful strike" and "illegal picket line activity," and it said the strikers should return to work immediately.
The extra car traffic is bound to exacerbate what was already billed as one of Toronto's first days with high smog levels of this summer. Temperatures are forecast to rise to around 30C and they are expected to stay high for the next couple of days.
The Toronto Transit Commission operates a network of subway, streetcar and bus lines across the city of more than 2.5 million people, serving some 700,000 passengers a day. GO Transit, which operates train and bus services in the Toronto suburbs, was working as normal.
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