London Tube System to stay open all night
London Underground
Many of you will have visited London at some stage. Indeed they say that if you stand at Piccadilly Circus long enough you’d meet everyone you’d ever known in your life.
However, it was the bane of Londoners’ lives and of visitors to London that they had to rush from a good night out at the theatre, cinema, pub or restaurant for the last Tube home.
Many a time I had to cut short an entertaining night to catch the last Tube home – or pay through the nose for a taxi, which at certain times of the year could not be found, e.g. over the Christmas period. I’ve ended up walking a few miles home at night on several occasions.
Ridiculous
It was always ridiculous that the Tube closed so early in such a major city. Many people thought that it was because it was run for the benefit of those working there and not for the customers.
However, that is about to change, at least during weekends. As from 2015 the Tube will run all night at weekends. This is expected to make a major change to London’s economy as visitors will be able to stay out longer and spend more – and many more will come to enjoy it.
Ticketless
Another major change is that the Tube system will be ticketless. All the ticket places will close with the loss of 750 jobs at London Underground’s 240 stations. Only 3% of tickets were bought via the ticket offices last year.
Unions have said that they will fight this with industrial action. London Underground have said that there will be no forced redundancies and that they will all be voluntary. Basically they are not needed any more if there are no tickets to dispense.
This will free up a lot of space in London Underground that could be used commercially.
Business Boost
Opening all night will boost the business of night clubs and other businesses in London’s centre and it will bring extra visitors as London will be sold, like New York, as a 24-hour city.
London Underground’s number of journeys has increased by 30% over the last decade and London’spopulation has been growing. It is expected to hit 10m in 2030 from a current 8.4m – more than double the population of Ireland.
This will be a major bonus for those of you who will be travelling to London from 2015 onwards – which will be quite a few of you.