HUNDREDS of people have signed a petition urging a bus company to bring back its night bus service to help keep women and girls safe.

Tobias Woods, who launched the petition, is calling for late night services to be brought back after many routes were axed in 2017.

In a post written alongside the petition, he said the lack of public transport in the early hours means women will be forced to get taxis home at night instead, adding that the outcry following the murders of Sabina Nessa and Sarah Everard has reinforced how unsafe women and girls feel walking home at night.

His petition, launched on Change.org, had 798 signatures at the time of writing.

Only petitions hosted on the official Parliament website are debated by MPs once they reach 100,000 signatures.

Tobias wrote: “Affordable transport options are essential to for the safety that those travelling home at night, be it those on a night out, hospitality or healthcare workers.

“It’s particularly disgraceful following the recent high-profile cases of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa.”

Yesterday, Transport for London (TFL) announced its night tube will resume next month after being suspended in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Tens of thousands of people signed a petition calling for services to resume to help protect women and girls.

Transport for London (TfL) said services on the Central and Victoria lines will run through the night on Fridays and Saturdays from Saturday November 27.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “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.

“I am determined to make our city as safe as possible for all Londoners.”

“I will continue to work with TfL and the Government to do everything we can to bring back the full night tube network as soon as possible.”

Brighton and Hove buses said it has already reintroduced four night services - the N1, N5, N7 and N25 - and is looking into bringing back more. 

Managing Director Martin Harris said: "As the effects of the pandemic recedes so are we looking at how we can enable the return of more night bus services. We are operating over 90 per cent of our former service mileage and numbers of passenger have grown to 70 per cent of their former levels so far.

"So things are moving in the right direction."

To sign the petition, visit www.change.org/p/brighton-and-hove-buses-bring-back-the-night-buses

Have you got a story for us? Email news@theargus.co.uk or contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletter to get updates sent straight to your inbox.

You can also call us on 01273 021 400.