August 24, 2017

Here's What Happens When You Have 24 Hour Rapid Transit~London's Experience

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It was a social experiment at its very best, and one quickly accepted and used in London. Since London really does operate 24 hours a day, last year Transport for London brought in the “Night Tube”, a way for people to move in the odd hours of the night “quickly, safely and affordably.” And as The City of London reports  it has had almost eight million trips, created 3,600 jobs and brought in 171 million pounds (274 million Canadian dollars)  into London’s economy. Journey times for people moving in the night has shrunk twenty to sixty minutes by using the Night Tube.
As Mayor of London Sadiq Khan notes: “The Night Tube has been a huge success ever since the first train rolled out of Brixton station 12 months ago. It’s significantly boosted our night-time economy, supported thousands of jobs and helped millions of people travel around our city at night safer and quicker than ever before. It truly demonstrates how London is open at all times of day and night.”
The Night Tube has been so effective that more 24 hour operating “overland” transit services will commence in the winter, and the Night Tube will extend to parts of six other tube lines. London joins other great cities like New York which runs subway services 24 hours a day.
Perhaps the best examples of adaptation to new transit services can be found in artistic expression. Here is The Night Tube Song (Free the Night).

 
 
As well as a poem by Hussain Manawer on the night tube.

 

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  2. Other great cities, plural? I’m not sure about that. Are there subway systems other than New York’s that run all night long? I’ve often wished Skytrain ran overnight, even if only every twenty minutes.
    Editor’s note: Chicago, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona also have 24 hour subway system service.

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