Mayor
Boris Johnson and London Underground (LU) managing director Mike Brown said
their proposals would result in greater use of technology, including
contactless bank card payments from next year, extended wi-fi coverage at
underground stations and improved ticket machines.
From
2015, travellers would be able to take the Tube home at any hour of the night
on Fridays and Saturdays on core parts of the system, initially the Piccadilly,
Victoria, Central and Jubilee lines, and parts of the Northern line, they said.
The pair
insisted all Tube stations would continue to be staffed and billions of pounds
of investment would continue, but admitted the plans were designed to deliver
savings of £50m a year as all ticket offices would close by 2015.
LU said
it was committed to delivering the reduction in operational staff numbers
without any compulsory redundancies.
Mr
Johnson said: "For 150 years the Tube has been the beating heart of
London, its tunnels and tracks providing the arteries that have transported
millions of people and helped to drive the development and economic growth of
our great city.
"Now
it is time to take the Tube to the next level and so for the first time in
London's history, we will provide a regular 24-hour Night Tube service at
weekends.
"This
will not just boost jobs and our vibrant night-time economy, it will further
cement London's reputation as the best big city on the planet to in which to
live, work, visit and invest."
Mr Brown
insisted: "People are at the heart of this vision - our customers and
staff. My commitment to London is that all Tube stations will continue to be
staffed and controlled in future, with more staff visible and available to help
customers buy the right ticket, plan their journey and keep them safe and
secure."
Unions
reacted with fury - with the leader of the TSSA rail union, Manuel Cortes,
accusing Boris Johnson of being the "hypocrite of the decade".
He said
the announcement would lead to the closure of all 268 Tube ticket offices by
the end of next year.
The
general secretary of the RMT union raised the threat of industrial action.
Bob Crow
said: "No matter how this is dressed up by Boris Johnson and his
officials, today's announcement is all about slashing almost £250m from the
annual London transport budget and the proposed cuts will decimate staffing
levels and hit the most vulnerable users of tube services the hardest.
"The
mayor must believe he is some sort of magician if he thinks he can slash jobs
and still run safe services when everyone knows that staffing has already been
cut to the bone while passenger demand continues to rise."
Shadow
London minister Sadiq Khan claimed the mayor had "ripped up his manifesto
promise to the people of London".
He added:
"Commuters will have nowhere to turn when their Oyster card is lost,
stolen or broken.
"It
will make the daily commute more difficult for everyone but, more worryingly,
there are serious concerns about whether there will be enough staff at London's
busy stations to respond in emergency situations.
"We
support looking at the way TfL (Transport for London) staff work so that it
reflects the changing needs of the modern underground system, but the mayor is
using this as an excuse to cut staffing levels, which is reckless and
irresponsible."
Skynews
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