All subway and bus lines in the five boroughs of New York City were brought to a complete standstill for twelve days.
Most significant was a mandatory carpool restriction, in which cars were not allowed to enter the Manhattan central business district during rush hour without at least three passengers.
[4][5] Mass transit riders "scrambled" to find taxis, while some passengers roller-skated, rowed boats, or flew helicopters to work.
[6] Residents of transit-deprived parts of New York City started a share taxi service with minibuses and their own private vehicles.
Workers in the manufacturing and health industries were the most affected by the strike, as they were less likely to be able to afford taxis and other alternative modes of transport.
[9] Complicating the matter, workers for the Long Island Rail Road, another MTA subsidiary, went on strike on April 2.
[10] Because of the strike, the remaining operating transit agencies in the area, Conrail and PATH, had increased ridership, and bridges and tunnels into Manhattan saw more vehicular traffic than usual.
[15] On April 9, a New York State Supreme Court justice fined the unions a total of $1 million for striking during the past eight days.
While Lindsay had asked most workers to stay home, Koch actively cheered on commuters who walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.
The "sneaker brigade:" women commuters entering and migrating across Manhattan, who continued office jobs during the strike, switched from heels to athletic sneakers with short cotton socks, to walk from the Port Authority Bus Terminal and Grand Central Terminal and across the bridges and down the avenues.