Our ref:FOI-0872-1718

Thank you for your email of 12 July 2017 asking for information about the Night Tube.

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold some of the information you require. You asked:

For each night that the Night Tube has operated from 22 October 2016 until the current weekend, please can you tell me how many people have tapped into the system every 30 minutes, starting from midnight (so 00:00, 00:30, 01:00 etc) right up until 06:30. If this time frame is not possible, please can I have the same breakdown of figures from the last six months.

Please find the information you have requested. The information is split by 30 minute periods. Please note that reporting of this type was only in place for the introduction of Night Tube in September 2016, and as additional lines were added. Since February we have not been conducting this reporting as all lines have been launched. We have therefore provided all the information we have available in response to your request. However, please note that the attached data contains recorded entry and exit taps from our Oyster and Contactless Payment systems. There may be differences between this data and figures previously published through press releases. Time intervals provided may also not be consistent with the time intervals that TfL has used for previously published Night Tube statistics.

What hours does the Night Tube service operate?

Night Tube operates between the pre-Night Tube last train on a Friday night and the pre-Night Tube first train on a Saturday morning, and between the pre-Night Tube last train on a Saturday night and the pre-Night Tube first train on a Sunday morning.

The last/first train time is different at every station so there is not a simple ‘these are Night Tube hours’ metric. Historically the last Underground train through central London was around or just after 00:30, but this means that the last train at the start of its journey could be around midnight, and not until after 01:00 at the end of its journey. For reporting purposes we are using 00:30 to 05:30 (Friday night) and 00:30 to 06:30 (Saturday night) as Night Tube hours.

How much has the service cost?

For the financial year 2016/17, Night Tube net operational expenditure was £20.46m (breakdown in table below). This included the employment of staff prior to Night Tube commencing operations. We were able to generate rostering efficiencies, particularly with Train Operators, which generated a saving of £2.55m. It should be noted that staff working on Night Tube can overlap with the rest of the operating day (e.g. by working a shift between 23:00 and 07:00) or work nights as part of a wider roster.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

Melissa Nichols

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London