A third of a million people can't service London's commercial needs for one entire working week?
The army will/won't provide replacement bus services for those third of a million people for that week?
Something's going to give next week. And it won't be pretty. But it may well be conclusive. Can't run a supposedly first-world country this way indefinitely. Or indeed for very long.
I don't see why anything will change. The government has no interest in backing down, they want to make political capital out of crushing the unions and they know that no matter how bad it gets - even if the government gets blamed - True Blue Sussex and Surrey will continue to vote for them. SASTA can't settle the dispute as the government won't let them. And the unions seem set for the long haul ... and even if they call off the strikes, the overtime ban causes mayhem anyway.
I can't see any change in the situation for months. I'm glad I work from home these days