Unions and Labour have attacked plans to modernise London's Tube operations, which will include a 24-hour service at weekends but result in 750 job losses.
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.
LU argues passenger services must be fit for a modern London 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."
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