End of Tube strikes?

[Btline]

Fustrated commuters have today heard the relieving news that many LU lines will become automatic within a few years!

http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/driverless-tube-trains-coming-to-the-london-underground-1066730?

Despite being automated, however, these trains are still manned. But this is set to change if Boris is to get his way...

Excellent news if London is no longer held to ransom.

[inspector_blakey]

I don't know what the regulatory/safety implications would be of running a completely unstaffed tube train. Even BoJo's proposed solution of a "train captain" per DLR rather than a driver still means that there is a member of staff required to operate trains. So unless he's planning on firing all the Underground drivers and hiring a bunch of new train captains on non-union contracts I don't entirely understand how this helps anyone. And just imagine the fracas that will precede any removal of drivers from trains.

Ulttimately you'll never be able to run an entirely automated/unstaffed Underground system (stations will need to be manned for ticket sales/revenue protection and most importantly for evacuation purposes in the event of fire or emergency) and wherever you have a requirement for staff to be working to keep the system open they will still be able to strike and shut things down.