London’s Night Tube begins this weekend, with mayor Sadiq Khan saying it will be used by a variety of people including “a middle-aged clubber” like himself.
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Apart from the boon to party revellers in the city, the night service would aid the capital’s many night workers.
Business membership organisation London First estimates the Night Tube could be worth £77 million a year to the capital’s economy by 2029.
Passengers pass an advert for the night tube on a platform at Oxford Circus underground (tube) station, in London, Wednesday August 17, 2016. About 40,000 Londoners were killed and a million homes were destroyed during the bombings.
It will be a boost for tourists and shift workers, who on Friday and Saturday nights will be able to travel at any chosen hour.
But transportation officials were not always so keen.
London Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Colin Stanbridge described the service as “vital to underpinning London’s 24-hour economy”.
Figures from TfL show that more than 50 percent of people using existing Night Buses are going to or returning from work.
The city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, was among those to board the first Victoria line service in the early hours of Saturday.
“We must be vigilant to make sure the Night Tube doesn’t lead to anti-social behaviour”, Tower Hamlets Mayor John Biggs said. The London Underground, also known as the Tube which is the oldest of its kind in the world.
Above ground, however, businesses ranging from hotels to pubs and retailers are hoping for an immediate fillip from the introduction of a service tipped to add as much as £77m to London’s economy annually and generate up to 2,200 new jobs.
After proving all-night running was a technical possibility, the network’s maintenance program was radically altered so that all routine engineering work took place overnight on weekdays only.
The film shows Hussain as he moves through a Tube station at night interacting with Londoners of all backgrounds.
The service will be extended to the Northern, Jubilee, and Piccadilly lines later this fall, and will allow for those enjoying the area’s nightlife to continue taking the Tube late into the evening.
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London has a vibrant party scene but few venues are open past 1am, an early finish compared to cities such as NY, and most pubs serve last drinks at 11pm.
