‘Tube Girl’ has 800,000 TikTok followers but has been forced to stop filming ‘paid partnership’ videos on London Underground, reports Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter

A TikTok star was warned earlier this year by Transport for London (TfL) about filming ‘commercial’ videos on their property, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) can reveal.

Sabrina Bahsoon, known to many as ‘Tube Girl’, has 800,000 TikTok followers but appears to have stopped filming ‘paid partnership’ videos on London Underground since her agents were contacted by the transport authority at the start of this year.

Sabrina first went viral on the social media app in August 2023, when she became known for her care-free dancing and her use of open carriage windows to create a ‘wind machine’ effect on her hair.

As her following boomed, however, Sabrina began to make some videos in partnership with luxury brands.

In October 2023, the influencer modelled various jewellery and accessories from Tiffany&Co, in a video captioned ‘From Tube Girl to Tiffany Girl’. Two months later, she used the platforms at Pimlico Station as a catwalk for her to show off different Hugo Boss outfits. Both videos were labelled as “paid partnerships”, in line with TikTok rules.

But TfL grew concerned that these videos were in breach of their ‘conditions of carriage’, which state that, while on TfL property, all passengers “must not undertake filming or photography for commercial purposes without the express permission of TfL”.

A TfL spokesperson said: “We’re pleased that some customers enjoy our services so much that they are moved to share their experiences via social media, but when this stops being personal videos, and becomes an organised commercial endeavour, we understandably need to ensure it is done properly and agree commercial terms.

“This helps ensure filming is safe, protects our intellectual property and provides revenue that is reinvested in the transport network for the benefit of everyone. We contacted Sabrina Bahsoon’s agent earlier this year to explore the possibilities.”

TfL’s view was that Sabrina should either stop making commercial videos on their network, or that if she continued making them, an agreement must be reached for TfL to receive a share of any income she received from them.

Sabrina’s agents were approached for comment by LDRS, but did not respond. However, the evidence from her TikTok feed would suggest that she has since stopped filming commercial content on the TfL network.

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