A petition calling for Sadiq Khan to reinstate the night tube has reached 105,815 signatures, at the time of going to pixel. The petition set up by Ella Watson, an intern at UN women, slams Khan’s decision to keep the night tube closed over the winter of 2021/22 claiming that it will have a “disproportionate impact on women” who risk harassment whilst walking home at night “and low-income groups” who cannot afford to travel home in taxis. Khan’s budget problems, rather than the pandemic, explain why the night tube can’t be reopened.

The petition adds that over 70% of women in the UK have experienced sexual harassment in public and references the recent, tragic, and high-profile murders of Sabina Nessa and Sarah Everard which she claims “epitomises the fear women face of walking alone or standing on the streets in the evening and at night”. The petition calls on Sadiq Khan as well as Boris Johnson, tube boss Andy Byford, Grant Shapps, and Elizabeth Truss to “take responsibility for women’s public safety and reopen the night tube this winter”. 

A spokesperson for Sadiq Khan says the mayor is committed to re-opening the service “as quickly as possible”. No date has been set for when the night tube will be rolling again…