It’s been an annual event in London for nearly two decades, as passengers ride the Underground with no trousers on – leaving tourists and families totally bemused.
But calls are growing for the ‘No Trousers Tube Ride’ to end amid fears it is causing unnecessary trauma for those who have suffered sexual assaults on the network.
The event was held yesterday afternoon having first arrived in the capital as a US import in 2009 following the first ‘No Pants Subway Ride’ in New York in 2002.
Glamour writer Emma Clarke said the ride had ‘long been brushed off as just a bit of silly fun’, but it was ‘extremely triggering for me’ because of her terrifying ordeal.
She explained that she suffered a sexual assault during the pandemic when a man began performing a sex act over her on the District line while licking his lips.
Ms Clarke took photographs of the man and reported the incident to Transport for London (TfL) staff and British Transport Police (BTP) but he was never caught.
Writing in Glamour, she said: ‘When campaigners are calling for women-only Tube carriages and the stark VAWG figures in the UK bear an overwhelming weight, this “silly” tradition of forgoing clothing is not only outdated – it’s completely tone deaf, and poses yet another safety risk.
‘Yes, the event has both men and women participating. And I’m sure back in 2009, when it was first thought up, it was seen as a novelty.
A man takes part in the annual No Trousers Tube Ride on the London Underground yesterday
Two women sit on a Circle line train as they take part in the No Trousers Tube Ride yesterday
People laugh as they stand on an Underground train during yesterday’s No Trousers Tube Ride
A group of people take part in the No Trousers Tube Ride on London’s Elizabeth line yesterday
‘But when we are fighting to protect our rights as women and girls, “No Trousers Day” offers yet another excuse for would-be predators, and exposes us to yet more potential threat.
‘For me, it has no place in our city’s culture – and should firmly stay a thing of the past.’
Ms Clarke also cited BTP data released last month which showed there were 595 sexual offences across all Tube lines in 2024/25, the most since 2019/20 when there were 776.
Independent columnist Ryan Coogan wrote of the event two years ago: ‘It turns a normal commute into an anxiety-ridden ordeal, not least because the Tube is often packed tight with people, meaning your chances of accidentally making physical contact with a pantsless stranger absolutely skyrocket.
‘Looking at pictures of previous years, there are sat in seats trying desperately to avoid looking at eye-level tighty whities.
‘Women do take part, but the vast majority of participants appear to be male, which is a huge problem for any women who might feel understandably vulnerable when confronted by a semi-nude horde on their way to the shops.’
A Reddit post about the event has also prompted much discussion in recent days, with one user writing: ‘The No Trousers Tube Ride is embarrassing nonsense and it absolutely stinks of the 2014 moustache and bacon internet.
‘That era of forced quirky humour where people thought wearing silly props and doing dares counted as having a personality. Nobody wants to see your crusty underwear in public.’
People sit on an Underground train during the annual No Trousers Tube Ride yesterday
A woman takes part in the No Trousers Tube Ride on London’s Elizabeth line yesterday
A woman stands on an escalator during the No Trousers Tube Ride in London yesterday
Another said: ‘Am I the only one who thinks this it utterly repulsive?’
But a third wrote: ‘The reactions to this post make me so sad. Anything silly, quirky, out of the norm, or fun for the sake of fun, entirely squashed and eradicated by a new wave of puritans. It’s not dangerous to be silly: it’s life-threatening to never put a smile on your face.’
This year’s participants gathered in Soho’s Chinatown from 2.45pm before heading down to the Tube then stripping their lower half down to their underpants.
The event was started in 2009 by the Stiff Upper Lip Society, a flash-mob group who organised it each year – apart from during the pandemic – until 2024.
Since then, organisation for the event has been taken on by group member Dave Selkirk, a personal trainer from South Africa who ran it yesterday with another Londoner called Rammi Chiratheep, who is originally from Thailand.
In a Facebook event post, organisers asked those involved to: ‘Keep the (under)pants as normal or low-key as possible, so it looks like you’ve just forgotten your trousers.’
They added that there were ‘no official organisers’ and ‘All participants do so at their own risk – please behave safely and be mindful of your own safety.’
Passengers travel on the Underground during the annual No Trousers Tube Ride yesterday
Two women stand on a train as they take part in the No Trousers Tube Ride yesterday
Two women pose for a photo during the annual No Trousers Tube Ride in London yesterday
The event is done purely for ‘fun’, and not for charity or to raise awareness of any cause.
A BTP spokeswoman told the Daily Mail: ‘It is not a criminal offence to go trouser-less on the Tube in itself, however we ask that participants are respectful of fellow passengers, and we continue to campaign relentlessly to encourage the reporting of sexual harassment and sexual offences.’
She added: ‘Tackling sexual offences is our top priority and we take every report of sexual harassment or violence extremely seriously.
‘If any passengers feel they were directly targeted by anyone on-board a Tube service, in a harassing or intimidating way, we ask they report this to us for investigation.’
BTP added that it has patrols of uniformed and specially-trained plain clothes officers across the railway day and night to catch offenders and reassure passengers as they travel, along with access to over 150,000 cameras across the railway network.
Anyone who experiences or witnesses sexual harassment or a sexual offence on the railway is urged to report it to BTP by texting 61016 or calling 0800 405040 – or 999 in an emergency.
The Daily Mail has also contacted TfL for comment.
