Newly appointed night czar Amy Lamé hits the Piccadilly line Night Tube for the first of her night surgeries
The mayor's first night czar starts a pet project of her own tonight.
Amy Lamé, who was announced by the mayor last month as night czar, is launching the very first of her night surgeries – where she'll meet the capital's nightlife lovers and night-time workers to find out just what they want to see from London after hours.
Her task will be to turn the capital into a true, thriving 24-hour city.
Read more: Sadiq Khan has named London's first night czar
"I'm so excited for the night surgeries," she tells City PM "It’s one of the ideas I pitched at interview for this job."
"This is about having a conversation about life at night, so the first one we’re doing tonight on the Piccadilly line with the launch of the Night Tube," she explains. "The idea is we speak to people from all aspects of the night-time economy and night-time culture."
It's tying in with the launch of the Night Tube, making the Piccadilly line the fifth to get the services this year, following the Central, Victoria, Jubilee and Northern lines.
There's a busy schedule lined up, with Lamé starting at the Green Rooms Hotel in Wood Green to talk to hotel workers and resident artists and meeting the British Transport Police at Finsbury Park.
Then she's off to speak to theatregoers and backstage staff at the Park Theatre, meeting students at the School of African and Oriental Studies' late-night library, heading to the West End to visit the busy bars and a late-night McDonalds, before finishing at Heathrow.
"We're finishing at Heathrow, which is really important because I think the Night Tube is really going to transform the way which we're able to get to and from the airport and travel," she says.
Read more: Mayor announces Fabric lawyer Philip Kolvin as Night Time Commission chair
And as for the numerous stop-offs Lamé will be making, she's looking forward to the late nights rather than dreading them (as you might hope from a night czar). "I thrive at night so the staying up late part of it does not faze me," she says.
Once she has assessed what does and doesn't work from the first night surgery, she'll make tweaks for the next one in the New Year.
"We’re asking people very specific questions because it's about a conversation, but it’s also about taking all this information and having it influence some decisions about what we can do to improve things," she says.
"So, asking people what they love about life at night, what isn't working for them and how we might be able to change that. Asking how to make it better, what would your solution be for this? People have loads of great ideas – it's just about talking to them."