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The first in a series of 24-hour strikes by London Underground workers has crippled the Tube network.
Millions of passengers faced severe disruption as services on all but the Bakerloo and Northern lines were suspended or delayed.
Maintenance staff walked out at 1700 BST on Monday and drivers, signallers and station staff stopped work four hours later in a row over job cuts.
The unions said support for the action was "rock solid".
As a result of the action, there are no trains running on the Circle, Piccadilly, Victoria and Waterloo and City lines.
The District, Hammersmith and City, Jubilee and Metropolitan lines are partly suspended and there are severe delays on the Central Line.
Standing on the picket line at King's Cross station, general secretary of the RMT union Bob Crow apologised to commuters but warned that more strikes could be on the way.
Transport for London maintained services were running on a number of lines and that it would review the situation hour-by-hour.
It said people were able to travel around the capital because of its contingency plans for dealing with the industrial action.
Mike Brown, of London Underground (LU), said: "We are doing everything possible to keep as many Tube services operating today, and to keep Londoners moving.
"Londoners will face some disruption, but the city is not paralysed and people will still be able to get around."
An extra 100 buses and 10,000 more passenger journeys on Thames riverboat services have been laid on. Some taxi ranks will be marshalled and escorted bike rides will be operating.
London Mayor Boris Johnson cycled to the Stock Exchange in the City to speak at the opening session of the Capital Markets Climate Initiative.
Mr Johnson said new staffing proposals for the Underground were "moderate and sensible" and accused the unions of "cynically deciding to try the patience" of commuters.
Speaking ahead of the strike, Mr Crow said: "We have laid out the clearest possible evidence to the mayor and his officials that if he breaks his promises and slashes station staffing numbers he will be giving the green light to disaster."
The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) unions are fighting plans to cut ticket office staffing levels, claiming security could be compromised for passengers.
Mr Brown said the unions had chosen to disrupt Londoners for no good reason.
"Londoners will doubtless find it incredible that the two union leaderships are pursing this action when they have been given cast-iron assurances that the staffing changes we are making come with no compulsory redundancies, that every station that currently has a ticket office will retain one, and that every station will remain staffed at all times."
In a separate dispute, up to 200 Jubilee and Northern line maintenance staff employed by Alstom-Metro began a 24-hour strike at 1900 BST on Sunday after rejecting an "insulting", sub-inflation pay offer.
The RMT said it expected the impact of the strikes to be "massive" with further action planned for October and November.
BBC News - London Underground strike causes severe disruption
Millions of passengers faced severe disruption as services on all but the Bakerloo and Northern lines were suspended or delayed.
Maintenance staff walked out at 1700 BST on Monday and drivers, signallers and station staff stopped work four hours later in a row over job cuts.
The unions said support for the action was "rock solid".
As a result of the action, there are no trains running on the Circle, Piccadilly, Victoria and Waterloo and City lines.
The District, Hammersmith and City, Jubilee and Metropolitan lines are partly suspended and there are severe delays on the Central Line.
Standing on the picket line at King's Cross station, general secretary of the RMT union Bob Crow apologised to commuters but warned that more strikes could be on the way.
Transport for London maintained services were running on a number of lines and that it would review the situation hour-by-hour.
It said people were able to travel around the capital because of its contingency plans for dealing with the industrial action.
Mike Brown, of London Underground (LU), said: "We are doing everything possible to keep as many Tube services operating today, and to keep Londoners moving.
"Londoners will face some disruption, but the city is not paralysed and people will still be able to get around."
An extra 100 buses and 10,000 more passenger journeys on Thames riverboat services have been laid on. Some taxi ranks will be marshalled and escorted bike rides will be operating.
London Mayor Boris Johnson cycled to the Stock Exchange in the City to speak at the opening session of the Capital Markets Climate Initiative.
Mr Johnson said new staffing proposals for the Underground were "moderate and sensible" and accused the unions of "cynically deciding to try the patience" of commuters.
Speaking ahead of the strike, Mr Crow said: "We have laid out the clearest possible evidence to the mayor and his officials that if he breaks his promises and slashes station staffing numbers he will be giving the green light to disaster."
The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) unions are fighting plans to cut ticket office staffing levels, claiming security could be compromised for passengers.
Mr Brown said the unions had chosen to disrupt Londoners for no good reason.
"Londoners will doubtless find it incredible that the two union leaderships are pursing this action when they have been given cast-iron assurances that the staffing changes we are making come with no compulsory redundancies, that every station that currently has a ticket office will retain one, and that every station will remain staffed at all times."
In a separate dispute, up to 200 Jubilee and Northern line maintenance staff employed by Alstom-Metro began a 24-hour strike at 1900 BST on Sunday after rejecting an "insulting", sub-inflation pay offer.
The RMT said it expected the impact of the strikes to be "massive" with further action planned for October and November.
BBC News - London Underground strike causes severe disruption
