The impact of SEPTA's predawn strike started out bad and only got worse.

Early-morning travelers, many trying to get to jobs in the suburbs, were stranded at bus and subway stations, left to work their cell phones for rides from friends or relatives.

Taking to the roads, morning commuters clogged Center City intersections and caused backups of up to an hour over the bridges from New Jersey.

But that was just a warm-up to the evening rush hour, which brought a crush of commuters to Regional Rail stations, left streets paralyzed with gridlock, and sent tempers rising.

And brace yourself: Day Two is expected to be even worse.

Students at Philadelphia public schools, who are major users of public transit, were off yesterday for Election Day, and that may have lessened the impact of the strike.

"The real test is [this] morning, when schools are in full session," said MaryAnn Tierney, the city's director of emergency management.

Mayor Nutter said the city was "ambushed" by the strike. "You can't put a dollar value on the disruption and aggravation," he said. "This is unfair to the citizens of the city."

The city's 311 Center, which fields complaints and requests, experienced a 40 percent increase in volume yesterday. The city announced extended hours, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., for today and tomorrow.

Nutter spent the day meeting with department heads to map out contingency plans - with one of the first tasks being to continue the business of city government.

The city has set aside remote parking lots - in Fairmount Park, at the Festival Pier on the Delaware River, and in South Philadelphia - for municipal workers and is shuttling them by vans and school buses to the Municipal Services Building.

To ease the effect of the strike, the city also is allowing some workers to adjust their hours and to use office vehicles for carpools.

The Police Department has added more traffic police at more intersections, equipping some with manual controls to change lights.

The Streets Department is stopping all construction on roadways during the daytime, while the Parking Authority is allowing more cabs and limousine services to pick up customers in the city.

The city also has relaxed parking restrictions in certain areas - allowing such practices as stopping in bus zones to drop off passengers. (The locations are available through www.phila.gov/ready)

Employers, too, are taking steps to get workers to and from their jobs. Center City hotels chartered six tourist trolleys to shuttle workers in and out of the city.

About 5,100 train and trolley operators, bus drivers, and mechanics walked off the job at 3 a.m., catching the riding public off guard.

Many commuters had to cycle to work - or walk.

The Bicycle Coalition, an advocacy group, is promoting "Bike the Strike" and setting up more areas to park bikes on Dilworth Plaza.

Many stranded riders have turned to Regional Rail trains, which are not affected by the strike.