The London Assembly Transport Committee has published a report in response to TfL’s new proposals on transport accessibility, showing that step-free access and other accessibility measures fall far short of the growing need for them, with half of bus stops, two thirds of rail stations, and three quarters of tube stations, not fully accessible to people with limited mobility.
The report argues for a range of measures, including low-cost steps such as allowing manual ramps, upgrading pedestrian crossings, providing better training for bus drivers, and improving online and paper maps.
Launching the report, Caroline Pidgeon AM, Chair of the Transport Committee, said:
“When it comes to accessibility, TfL needs to focus its energies and funding to maximise the benefits of improvements.
“As we have said before, improvements do not need to be expensive. They can be as simple as training bus drivers to give disabled or elderly people enough time to sit down before driving off, or letting people in wheelchairs use manual ramps at stations.
“People with reduced mobility who use public transport know the issues best so it’s important that TfL consults passengers to help target its resources where improvements will make the most difference.”