Saturday 27 June 2015


Interesting, according to an article in The Guardian over the last two years the Met and local councils have been putting restrictions on bars and clubs in London to the point where some like the hugely successful Vibe Bar in Brick Lane have been forced to close.  Is this the thriving night time economy that TfL are so eager to support that they’re forcing Night Tube upon us?  Maybe Boris should have a word with his commissioner of policing and tell him to ease off a little otherwise from September we could be driving empty trains after 1am because everyone will have gone home.

7 comments:

  1. I've always maintained London isn't 24 hour enough for this Night Tube stuff. It's a vanity project for Boris and co.
    Licensing restrictions throughout the city, the Met and resident's associations have helped dictate closing times for bars/clubs (2-3AM). The places that are remain open late enough (Fabric, Cargo etc other warehouse type places) have the type of clientèle you'd want to sober up before you want them anywhere near a railway, and that's what they've traditionally done you can see them sprawled out on the road or queuing up in McDs (been there myself).
    I don't see licenses being extended on basis that there's 24 tube Fri & Sat, if anything means more continuous noise leaving venues.
    There's only a handful of food places open 24 hours in London, even with the vast night bus network (so you can't blame it on lack of access), not sure how much this will change as a result of this night running.
    Not even speaking as a driver who's going to be effected by the changes, just as a realistic Londoner who likes to go out when shifts allow.

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  2. I can't see Night Tube being anywhere near economically viable, given that even with the massive daytime flows and peak fares, the system is barely running comfortably in terms of profit/loss/reinvestment. No doubt the additional revenue potential external to the LUL from bars and clubs etc will trickle through as increased business rates, VAT and other taxation, so anything that flows back to LUL will be seen as "the taxpayer subsidising the tube"

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  3. I can't understand why they don't implement a "3rd" peak for between 01:00 and 04:30. Especially as they'll be the passengers probably making the most mess on the trains! It'll still be a lot cheaper than a taxi fare for sure.

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    1. Do you think the majority of the travelling public at this time will want to pay for their journey? Boozed up to the eyeballs (not all but a lot) and it will be the station staff getting the verbal as they bunk in without a ticket or using an oyster card or contactless bank card. The drivers will get it when the alarms start getting activated on the trains to passengers being ill or fighting!

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  4. Just out of interest, when did LUL hire 137 drivers to specifically drive the night tube trains (being reported in the media by Steve Griffiths) - or are the drivers currently being trained having to sign an amended POA?

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    1. They didn't, these are just extra drivers being brought in to expand the roster for Night Tube, there is no amended POA, they're working on the same terms as existing TOps. Steve Griffiths is new to the job and doesn't seem to understand what's going on.

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