London Tube: Reaction to cuts and 24-hour service

News that some Tube services will run for 24 hours at weekends and 750 ticket office jobs are to go has been met with a mixed response from business, commuters and other interested parties.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "This is just the first stage in an opening up of the Tube network to become 24 hours.

"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."

But are others equally as positive?

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow

No matter how this is dressed up by Boris Johnson and his officials, today's announcement is all about slashing almost £250 million 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.

"RMT's position remains the same. We will work with sister unions and the public to fight these plans and that means using every campaigning, political and industrial tool at our disposal and our executive will be looking at a timetable and a strategy for that campaign, including a ballot for industrial action, later today.

Federation of Small Businesses

FSB London welcomes the new 24 hours Tube service at weekends and improvements to the reliability, capacity and accessibility of Tube services. London is a 24-hr international city and it should have a transport infrastructure to support the night time small business economy. However, whilst the 24-hour Tube service is a much-needed step forward, more needs to be done to address the problem of road congestion and the state of repair of roads in London.

Transport for All (accessible transport group)

We are horrified at London Underground's dangerous plans to cut staff from Tube stations. Thousands of disabled and older passengers rely on station staff to help us travel safely and independently. Many of us - particularly visually impaired people and those with a learning impairment - simply cannot use ticket machines.

Westminster City Council

When we first established the West End Commission at the start of this year, one of the major recommendations that came through was to run the Tube at later times at the weekend.

We are delighted that our work with businesses, Peter Hendy, and the TfL team has now made that a reality. The West End Partnership may be in its infancy but we are already getting results that will benefit the entire West End of London.

@narrowboatLucy (Londoner)

Later tubes = great. Closure of all ticket offices?! Idiocy of the highest order.

London Chamber of Commerce

London is a modern, global city and it is only right that we should have a transport system that reflects this. We support the work that TfL has done in putting in place plans to extend the Tube which will further help us compete with other major cities.

Shadow London Minister Sadiq Khan

The Mayor of London has today ripped up his manifesto promise to the people of London. As a result of his plans, Londoners will feel more anxious travelling at times when stations may be deserted.