Neve Gordon-Farleigh
With the government unveiling their Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, and a newly proposed BT phone line to increase women’s safety, a petition has urged for London’s Night Tube also,to reopen.
Walking home and being out at night alone, aren’t new concerns for women and girls. However, these worries have heightened and become even more prevalent after the deaths of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa.
Attracting thousands of signatures, a petition has highlighted the importance of resuming London’s Night Tube to make women feel safer.
History of The Night Tube
Launched in August 2016, the Night Tube came into action by newly elected Mayor, at the time, Sadiq Khan. Upon the launch he said, “I’m really pleased that 100 days or so after becoming the mayor we’ve got that right.”
Running on Fridays and Saturdays, the service was originally available on the Victoria, Jubilee, Central, Northern and Piccadilly Lines.
Although closed for the past 20 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the service is set to reopen from the 27 November operating on the east-west Central Line and north-south Victoria Line. Travellers will be able to use the service Friday and Saturday evenings, with Transport for London saying other lines would reopen “as soon as possible”.
Speaking about the reopening, the Mayor commented: “The reason why I was so keen to be the first Mayor in London’s history to start the Night Tube in 2016 and to restart it now, after the Covid pause, is because I know how important this is to London’s thriving night-time economy, to London’s recovery and to the confidence and safety of everyone travelling home at night, particularly women and girls,”
He expressed he was “determined to make our city as safe as possible for all Londoners.”. Adding that resuming the service “will make a huge difference to people travelling around our city at night and making their way home, offering them an additional safe, reliable transport option.”
Women’s Safety
Feelings of increased safety within the city is the sole purpose of why Ella Watson created the petition.
In an interview she said, “It’s a great start to enhancing women’s safety but we need to ensure that more lines open across the whole capital.
“The goal of the petition was to reinstate the Night Tube for everyone, whether they’re on the Northern line or the Jubilee, so I’m not ready to give up the campaign just yet.”
There is still more to be done, for women and girls to feel safer.
Earlier on in the year, the death of Sarah Everard prompted the government to reopen their call for evidence for women to share their experiences, and shape a Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls strategy that really mattered. Gathering over 180,000 voices, the strategy was published in July 2021.
Since this, other strategies have been proposed, including a GPS tracking app by BT, which has received backing by the Home Secretary. However, it’s clear to see that resuming service of London’s Night Tube, is only the beginning.
After restrictions eased earlier on in the year, and the governments plans on restoring the economy; the safety of women and girls still has to remain a priority.
Featured image courtesy of Nick Fewings on Unsplash. No changes or alterations were made to this image. Image license found here.
Neve Gordon-Farleigh
Neve is a 21 year old freelance journalist, and our Head Current Affairs and Instagram Editor for Empoword Journalism. She specialises in social media journalism and runs the Journo Resources Tik Tok page. You can find her on Twitter @Neve_GF.