One in ten Londoners cannot access capital's public transport

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More than one in 10 Londoners are excluded from large sections of the public transport network because buses, trains and stations are not accessible to people with reduced mobility and the situation is set to get worse, a new report suggests today.^[1] 

The London Assembly Transport Committee’s detailed study reveals step-free access and other accessibility measures fall far short of demand[2], and calls on the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) to do more to demonstrate their commitment to improving accessibility[3].

The Committee’s report shows:

• Only 10 of London’s 270 Tube stations are completely step-free all the way from street level to train. Only 61 Tube stations have step-free access from the street to the platform.
• Just one-third of London’s 300 rail stations have step-free access from street to platform.
• While all London’s buses now have ramps, only half of London’s 17,476 bus stops meet the criteria for full accessibility.

The report also shows that the number of Londoners with reduced mobility will continue to rise - to more than a million by 2031, the timescale for delivery of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy[4].

As well as failing to meet overall demand, the Committee found existing accessibility measures are not in the parts of London they are needed most: in four of the London boroughs with the highest number of residents with reduced mobility, fewer than half of bus stops and stations are accessible[5].

Chair of the Transport Committee, Val Shawcross AM, said:

"The fact that hundreds of thousands of Londoners cannot use the public transport network with relative ease is simply unacceptable.

"Transport for London must get on top of the situation now or risk leaving an increasing number of people excluded from travelling on trains, Tubes and buses.

"Despite funding pressures, we believe there are measures that could be put in place, reasonably cheaply and quickly, that would dramatically improve the transport experience for people with reduced mobility."

The Committee recommends a series of relatively low-cost measures that TfL should prioritise. These include: allowing manual ramps at some terminating or outlying Tube stations; providing detailed information on TfL’s Journey Planner about things like step heights and how accessible interchanges are; improved training and guidance for bus drivers; and more publicity about who is entitled to use the accessibility bay on buses.

The report calls on TfL to consult people with reduced mobility about their plans to improve accessibility to ensure investment is targeted at measures and parts of London where it will make the most difference.

The Committee wants to see many of its recommendations implemented within the next six months to improve the situation as quickly as possible for Londoners, and ensure when London hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, visitors with reduced mobility, as well as residents, can travel more easily around the capital.

Notes to editors:

The report ‘Accessibility of the transport network’ and a short video about the findings is available here.

This includes wheelchair users, people with other disabilities, people with walking difficulties in each age group from 5 upwards, along with people using buggies and prams to transport the under-5s.

Current provision does not meet demand and whilst TfL has plans for improvements to accessibility, these will not meet increased demand. By 2018, the proportion of step-free Tube stations is projected to grow to just 27 per cent, the proportion of step-free rail stations to 47 per cent and the proportion of fully accessible bus stops to 65 per cent.

The Transport Strategy sets out a ‘whole journey’ approach. The Mayor wants accessibility at all stages of a journey – from when someone plans a trip to the information they receive during the journey to when they switch between different modes such as the Tube, bus and train – see p172 here.

The boroughs with the highest numbers of people with reduced mobility are Barnet, Bromley, Croydon and Enfield. In these boroughs, fewer than 50 per cent of stations have step-free access and fewer than 50 per cent of bus stops are fully accessible. See detailed figures on pp13-15 of the report.

The report will be considered for formal agreement at the Committee’s meeting on 12 January 2011.