Proposals for the Night Tube to run on Thursday nights are being kept “under review”, Sadiq Khan has said.
The mayor told London Assembly members that while he would like to see the service expanded, Transport for London’s (TfL) finances are currently too constrained.
The issue was raised at Mayor’s Question Time by Tory assembly member Emma Best, who argues the move could play a crucial role in revitalising the capital’s night economy.
“Thursday is the new Friday for many Londoners, and the push for a Night Tube on Thursdays will only increase,” she said, before asking whether the mayor will ask the Government for the required funding.
The mayor said he was “really sympathetic” to the assembly member’s point, adding that he would keep her updated on whether it will become possible to expand the service in future.
A recent report by Ms Best, titled ‘Fixing London’s Nightlife’, pointed out that the Night Tube “only runs on just 5 out of 11 [Underground] lines, only two nights a week [Fridays and Saturdays]”.
The report adds: “You only have to look around the streets of Soho, the City and Canary Wharf on Thursday nights to realise just how high footfall is for many workers piling out the office and into the pubs, with many workers then taking advantage of working from home on a Friday… There is a case for extending the Night Tube to exist on a Thursday.”
Mr Khan said that since its launch in 2016, the Night Tube has boosted London’s economy by hundreds of millions of pounds. It now covers the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines, along with part of the London Overground.
“Given the success of the Night Tube, I’ve asked TfL to keep Night Tube services under review, and I’ve made it clear I’d like to see the service expanded to support the running of our city’s late-night economy when circumstances allow,” he said.
The mayor warned however that, as well as extra funding, any expansion of the service would require “complex planning”, as it would mean re-scheduling work currently carried out at night.
“The introduction of the Night Tube saw many significant changes to London Underground inspection and maintenance work, condensing what was once seven days of work into five,” he said.
“Shift patterns for this work now avoid Friday and Saturday nights and Night Tube service lines, with essential work being redirected to other areas of the network.
“So one consideration is the impact of further condensing this vital work, which used to take seven nights, into four nights, to accommodate a late night service on Thursdays.”
He added that TfL undertakes “continuous assessments” of travel patterns, but said late evening ridership on the Tube remains about 20 per cent higher on Fridays and Saturdays than on Thursdays.
The mayor was also asked about the recent resignation of his night czar, Amy Lamé, who will leave City Hall on October 31.
It is unclear whether Ms Lame will be replaced with a new night czar. A ‘London Nightlife Taskforce’ is instead expected to examine the effectiveness of the role - which currently commands a salary of £132,000 a year.
But Liberal Democrat assembly member Gareth Roberts said that if a new czar is hired, the mayor should ensure they are a “political appointee”, in order to “allow robust scrutiny by the Assembly, without fear of breaching employment law, as was a recurring problem with Ms Lamé’s appointment”.
The mayor suggested this would not be possible, as the Act of Parliament which created London’s mayoralty in 1999 limits how many of those appointees he can have at any one time - and all positions are currently filled.
Mr Khan told Mr Roberts: “I’d be more than happy for [assembly] members to lobby the Government for me to have more political appointees.”
