Your accessible transport network

The Mayor’s commitment to making it even easier for you to travel around London

Contents

3 Foreword

4 The services we provide
– Freedom Pass
– London’s buses
– Driver training
– Mobility card
– Tube and rail
– London Underground
– London Rail
– Taxis
– Dial-a-Ride
– Travel mentoring
– Travel Support Card
– River services
– Facilities for pedestrians
– Our customer information

10 Our commitment to improve things further
– More accessible information
– Enhanced infrastructure
– Improved customer experience
– Better engagement

18 Get involved

19 Summary of improvements
– Footnotes

21 Appendix
– Tube and London Overground
– Network Rail

Foreword

This summer, London hosted a truly great Olympic and Paralympic Games. They were also the most accessible ever held – with more disabled people travelling to more events at more venues and locations than on any previous occasion.

Even with the transport network at the busiest in its history, disabled passengers
found that the range of accessible transport options and the information available meant that travelling around the Capital was often much easier than they had previously thought.

That’s because record levels of investment over the past few years have ensured that London has the most accessible transport network in the country and one of the most accessible in the world. 

However, I recognise that things aren’t perfect and that we must do more. That’s why we will now go even further – investing hundreds of millions of pounds and using the most imaginative solutions and the latest technology to take the accessibility of London’s transport network to the next level. 

This means making huge improvements to the Tube including more step-free stations and accessible trains, manual boarding ramps at more stations, additional wide-aisle gates and other enhancements. It also means the delivery of Crossrail, which will transform step-free journeys across the Capital, and investing £17m in making nearly every bus stop in London accessible. 

Alongside these and many other improvements, Transport for London (TfL) will be significantly improving the information available to help you plan and make your journey. This includes a completely overhauled website, new distinctive signage across the Tube network, supporting the development of smartphone apps and creating a new accessibility Twitter feed. TfL is actively seeking to involve disabled people in its work, and is boosting the training given to transport staff so that they can offer consistently excellent service. Further improvements will come including more step-free measures, and enhancements to the Pedestrian Countdown system.

Some of the initiatives we want to undertake require support from our partners. We will continue to make the case for further investment so that we can do even more – for example increasing the number of step-free stations. With the help of the Government, local authorities and the private sector I want to, over the course of this administration, get to a place where you and every Londoner truly feel that this city’s transport network is your transport network – for you, and easily accessible by you.

Boris Johnson
Mayor of London
The services we provide

We want you, our customers, to have the confidence to make full use of the public transport system.

If you are one of the 11 per cent of Londoners who is disabled, if you are an older Londoner or a visitor to the city, or if you need to travel with a buggy or heavy luggage, we want to do everything possible to make your journey a pleasant experience and accessible from end to end.

When you use the network we hope that you will notice how it has improved. The  Tube network was built 150 years ago with no consideration of step-free access, but things are changing radically. And the days of no wheelchair access on our buses are gone.

We have been working hard to increase accessibility through consistent and targeted investment, and there is now a huge range of accessible transport options across the city. Through a combination of these we hope that you can experience all that London has to offer.

Currently, 1.3 million trips are made by disabled people every day, 4.9 million by passengers carrying heavy luggage, 1.5 million by people accompanied by a child under five (so they probably have a buggy) and 0.7 million by those aged over 74. A total of 7.1 million trips a day are made by somebody with at least one of these barriers to mobility.

Freedom Pass
To make it easy and convenient to get around we work with the London boroughs to offer free travel to many disabled people and to everyone who is 60 or over on almost all of the city’s transport network.

There are currently more than 1.4 million Freedom Pass holders in London – 17 per
cent of our population – with 183,000 Disabled Person’s Freedom Pass holders and 11,650 discretionary Disabled Freedom Passes currently issued to people outside the standard eligibility categories. You could be eligible for free travel, so check with your local borough.

London’s buses
Increasing accessibility has been a key part of the development of London’s bus network over recent years. The Capital led the world in introducing a wheelchair-accessible service across the city and now every day, each bus is checked to ensure the ramp is working as it should.

All buses are fitted with a next-stop audio and visual system to let passengers know which route they are on and when they are approaching their stop. Real-time information on bus arrivals is available for all 19,000 stops on the web, by text message and a number of smartphone applications. This information is also displayed at 2,500 bus stops with signs.

More than 90 per cent of London residents live within 400 metres of a bus stop. The vast majority of these can be used by all bus passengers, including wheelchair users. In addition, we are reviewing all stops to ensure that they meet much higher standards of accessibility. Where stops do not meet these standards, for example due to the height of the kerb or street furniture, the stopping areas are being  redesigned.

To date 67 per cent of stops can be classified as ‘fully accessible’ – a figure which has more than doubled since 2008. 

Driver training
London’s 24,000 bus drivers receive extensive training above and beyond that normally given to bus drivers throughout the UK, in the form of a bespoke BTEC vocational award. This includes customer service and disability awareness training.

We publish the Big Red Book, a handbook issued to bus drivers which gives clear
guidance on the level of service expected from them. It contains a comprehensive
section on how to meet the needs of disabled customers including:

•	Guidance on pulling in close to the kerb at bus stops
•	Kneeling the bus to assist passengers who need help boarding
•	Allowing older and disabled passengers time to hold on or get to a seat before driving off
•	How to offer assistance to anyone who might need additional information or support to use the bus

The latest edition, published in August 2012, contains updated guidance on access to buses for mobility scooters – making it simple to recognise which are safe to use on buses.

We will continue to review and update the Big Red Book. The next edition will reflect the new initiatives that are identified as part of a bus driver training review.

Mobility card
We launched a Mobility Aid Recognition Scheme on 10 July 2012. The scheme
is aimed at bus passengers who use wheelchairs, mobility scooters or mobility aids and removes uncertainty for both the holder and the bus driver on whether a mobility aid can be safely used on the bus. 
Tube and rail 

Nearly 40 per cent of all stops and stations across London’s rail-based public transport network (including National Rail, Tube, DLR and Tramlink) are currently step-free, up from around 30 per cent in 2008. This includes 175 stations on the TfL network.

London Underground
We are working hard to improve accessibility on the Tube. The network dates back nearly 150 years, to an era where accessibility was not considered in the design of stations. It can therefore be very expensive and disruptive to deliver step-free projects, with some lift projects requiring more than £50m.

Investment in step-free access schemes on the Tube is focused at the key stations where it can provide the greatest benefit for the largest number of customers. A total of 66 Tube stations have now been made step-free including key stations such as King’s Cross St. Pancras, Heathrow 123, London Bridge, Wembley Park, Blackfriars, Farringdon, Green Park and Stratford.

The Victoria line has a whole new fleet of 47 trains that have dedicated spaces for wheelchair users and wider doors. New trains being rolled-out on the Metropolitan, District, Circle and Hammersmith & City lines (together comprising 40 per cent of the network) feature wide doors, dedicated spaces for wheelchair users, a low-floor design for improved access between the train and platform, and multipurpose spaces throughout. They also have advanced audio and visual information, air
conditioning, CCTV and priority seating and are now operating across the whole
Metropolitan line.

More than 250 wide-aisle gates have been installed at Underground stations to provide easier access for wheelchair users, assistance dog owners, people with buggies and passengers with luggage.

We have pioneered the development of raised platform sections or humps, which improve access between the platform and train. Since 2005, more than 90 have been installed at 35 stations and there are plans to increase the number further.

Manual boarding ramps, which enable wheelchair users to board trains more easily at stations that have a gap between the train and the platform, were introduced ahead of the Games at 16 key Tube stations including Earl’s Court, King’s Cross St. Pancras, Oxford Circus, Southfields, Stratford, West Ham, Westminster and Wimbledon. 

London Rail
All stations and trains on the DLR network are accessible; this includes level access from the platform to the train.

The London Overground network recently underwent a full upgrade, which included platform extensions and new rolling stock. All of London Overground’s original rolling stock has been replaced with a new, accessible, state-of-the-art, modern fleet. The
trains are ‘roll through’ or ‘walk through’, acting as one long compartment from end to end, meaning a more spacious and pleasant environment for everyone.

Of the 83 stations served by London Overground trains, 38 are step-free from street to platform. Newly built stations such as Imperial Wharf, Shepherd’s Bush, Shoreditch High Street, Hoxton, Haggerston and Dalston Junction are all step-free to train. Liftshave also now been installed at Camden Road, Gospel Oak, Hackney Central and Wembley Central stations.

As well as step-free access, features such as induction loops for passengers with hearing aids, tactile paving for people with sight loss and additional help and information points have been added to stations as part of a pan-network
modernisation programme.

All access to trams on the London Tramlink network is step-free. There is no need to use ramps or any other special features to board. Additionally, all tram travel is free for wheelchair users, irrespective of whether or not they hold a Freedom Pass. To assist blind or partially sighted people, each stop has a tactile strip along its entire length, a safe distance from the platform edge.

Taxis
All of London’s 22,000 black cabs are 100 per cent accessible for wheelchair users. Many taxis also have colour contrast patches on seats and coloured grab handles, a swivel seat, an intermediate step, as well as an intercom and an induction loop. All
taxis and private hire vehicles must carry guide and other assistance dogs when requested. 

Londoners with serious mobility impairment who find it difficult using public transport may also be eligible for Taxicard – the subsidised transport scheme that we fund alongside participating London boroughs. Taxicard holders make journeys in licensed London taxis and private hire vehicles, and the subsidy applies directly to each trip. Taxicard can be used anytime, 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.

Dial-a-Ride
Dial-a-Ride (DaR) is our free door-to-door service for disabled and older passengers. It helps those who can’t use public transport to go shopping, visit friends and family, and travel to recreational activities such as the theatre. DaR made a record 1.4 million trips in 2011/12 – the most journeys recorded in its 30 year history.

Travel mentoring
Our travel mentoring service provides around 9,000 accompanied journeys a year to help increase the confidence of disabled people to use public transport  independently.

Travel Support Card
In 2012 we launched a Travel Support Card to help disabled people communicate with staff. It is adaptable to a wide range of situations and is particularly useful for those with communication, learning or cognitive disabilities, who may find speaking with staff or asking for assistance difficult. It includes space to write anything that
could help us provide the right support and for the holder to include their name and a number to call in an emergency. It is recognised across all our services.

River services
We own and operate eight piers along the Thames – Millbank, Westminster, Embankment, Blackfriars, Bankside, Tower, Festival and Greenwich. All of
these have step-free access at all tides, allowing access for mobility impaired
passengers. Most riverboats are accessible and most new riverboats have dedicated spaces for wheelchair users.

Facilities for pedestrians
A large number of improvements have taken place across London over the past few years to improve the accessibility of its streets. Improved public realm schemes have been delivered in, for example, Brixton, Gants Hill and Bounds Green, as well as better crossing facilities at the Elephant & Castle southern roundabout and at Henlys Corner. Ongoing programmes focus on tidying, de-cluttering, plus resurfacing and
renewal of footways and carriageways. 

Of the 4,911 signalised junctions and stand alone pedestrian crossing facilities in the Capital, 94 per cent have either audible warnings or tactile rotating cones, and work is under way to upgrade the remaining sites. Earlier this year we began to roll out Pedestrian Countdown systems at locations across London. These reduce confusion and uncertainty for pedestrians by displaying how long they have left to safely complete their crossing. The digital displays count down during the ‘blackout period’, which is the time between the green man symbol going out and the red man  appearing. It’s now easier to judge whether you have enough time to cross the road.
Independent research we commissioned demonstrated that 94 per cent of mobility impaired users like the system.

Legible London is the Capital’s wayfinding system. Its easy to use maps provide accurate and consistent information on streets, at stations and at bus stops. There are currently more than 1,100 signs across 25 boroughs, with Croydon and  Bexleyheath the latest town centres to introduce these maps.

Our customer information
Regardless of how good the transport network is, it is essential that we provide the right information to help you navigate it, so that you can be confident of an easy and reliable journey. 

We offer a wide range of online resources, including a series of short ‘how to’ films, to help disabled people unfamiliar with London’s transport network use our ticketing and journey planning systems, buses, the Tube, DLR, taxis and river services.

We also offer a range of step-free maps and useful guides on topics such as
getting around London, avoiding stairs, and assisted transport services. You can order these in various alternative formats via tfl.gov.uk

Our recently upgraded Journey Planner tool can show you the best way to make
a journey and includes information on whether stations are step-free from street to platform or street to train, plus details on manual boarding ramps and raised platform sections.

This is supplemented by extensive on-system signage to guide you around the network – so that lifts and other accessible features are clearly signposted.

Information on accessible transport is available at tfl.gov.uk/mobility

Our commitment to improve things further

Over the next four years, we will focus our efforts on a number of measures to  continue to make it easier for you to use the transport network and to increase the number of people who feel confident travelling in London.

There are four basic principles to achieving this aim:
1. To provide clearer, simpler and more personal accessible transport advice so you can make informed travel choices more easily
2. To deliver infrastructure improvements so you can use more of the network with greater ease 
3. To improve training so all staff consistently offer excellent assistance to all passengers
4. To further our engagement with disabled people so we can understand and learn from your experiences and make the changes you want to see

So, what can you expect?

More accessible information
By summer 2013 we will make things easier by:

•	Conducting an end-to-end review of signage and wayfinding throughout the Tube network to make it easier for people to navigate through stations across the whole system. We will also review complex step-free interchanges such as Green Park and London Bridge to make it simpler for passengers needing these routes, with new signs being introduced from summer 2013 
•	Replacing the highly effective accessibility signage that was introduced for the London 2012 Games with distinctive permanent signs which highlight step-free routes and accessible boarding points
•	Reviewing all the information we produce about accessibility, including improving the way that step-free advice is displayed on the standard Tube map, in consultation with disabled people. This will make it clearer which stations have level access throughout and which are step-free in the station but have a gap between the platform and the train
•	Working with Network Rail and the Association of Train Operating Companies to produce a step-free rail map for London, including the rail services we don’t operate. This will give an overview of step-free access across all rail services in the Capital for the first time 
•	Redeveloping the transport accessibility section of our website so that the information it gives about our services is simpler, clearer and more consistent across all types of transport
•	Making available real-time travel apps for smartphones in accessible formats. We will work with developers to produce apps that make our real-time information for the bus and Tube networks accessible, particularly for people with sight loss, and motor and learning disabilities
•	Making the step-free Tube guide available in smartphone apps. For the first time we will publish Tube accessibility data electronically so that developers can incorporate detailed information about access into their apps. This will include the information contained in the step-free Tube guide, locations of level access areas on platforms and information about toilet provision
•	Introducing a new accessibility Twitter feed so we can communicate directly with you to raise awareness of new schemes and services that improve accessibility

In 2014 we will have:

•	Completely redeveloped our website with clearer, easier to read content, designed to work across a range of different devices. You will start to see improvements next year, as we introduce single accounts so you’ll only ever need to log in once with one password to access all our online services. We will also introduce a new online customer service and complaints system. With all our online developments we will maintain high levels of accessibility, meeting and exceeding statutory standards 
•	Upgraded our Journey Planner to include further information on the accessibility of the network. This will include providing accessible routes that plan in real-time around service disruptions and the availability of lifts and escalators. When planning journeys, you will be able to specify your accessibility requirements in relation to step-free access, escalator provision, walking distances within stations and use of stairs. You will also be able to save journey preferences, including access requirements, for future searches

Enhanced infrastructure

Tube and rail 
–	Step-free stations
We are continuing to deliver more and more step-free Tube stations, reducing the difference in journey time between step-free and non-step-free routes, and opening up new routes across the Capital. Over the next 10 years, we will provide step-free access at an extra 28 stations. The number of journeys made each year by step-free routes will almost treble, from 67 million at present to 189 million in 2021. We will
do this by:

•	Investing around £250m to provide step-free access at an additional six key London stations (Bond Street, Finsbury Park, Greenford, Tottenham Court Road, Vauxhall and Victoria) by 2018. The works at Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road will provide step-free access to the heart of the West End and interchange with Crossrail, revolutionising accessible transport across central London. The timescales for further step-free stations are shown on page 30
•	Making four more stations partially step-free (Paddington to the Hammersmith & City line in 2014, Bank to the Waterloo & City line in 2015, and to the  Northern line at Elephant & Castle and Bank by 2021)
•	Looking for opportunities to go beyond this programme by encouraging step-free projects enabled by third parties, beginning with the committed schemes at Bromley-by-Bow in 2015 and Tower Hill in 2016
•	Developing a short-term programme for step-free access by spring 2013. This will identify stations where relatively quick and inexpensive improvements can be made 

In 2018 Crossrail will open, greatly improving east-west accessibility across London and enabling around 69 million additional step-free journeys a year. All newly built Crossrail stations will have step-free access, and every London borough that has a Crossrail station will have at least one with step-free access. Ealing Broadway and Whitechapel Tube stations will also be made step-free.

The Government’s Access for All programme, which addresses issues faced by disabled passengers at Britain’s railway stations, includes making 47 stations in London step-free by 2014. Thirteen have already been completed and a number of others are currently under way. A list of the stations is on page 32.

We are making the case for further investment in step-free access beyond the committed programme. As part of our work, we are currently lobbying for funding for another 18 rail stations in London to be made step-free between 2014 and 2019. This includes urging the Government to broaden the category of stations eligible for Access for All funding to include London Underground stations.

– Level access between platforms and trains
During the Games manual boarding ramps proved very popular when they were used at 16 Tube stations. We have kept them at these stations while we evaluated their long-term potential. We are now keeping them at the 16 stations and are talking with staff about our plans to introduce them more widely at other stations during 2013. These extra locations would be those that maximise the number of step-free journeys.

While boarding ramps provide a useful solution at some stations, we would like to provide level access where we can. This can be achieved in a number of ways, including installing more platform humps. By 2016, a third of the Tube network will have level access platforms, up from 15 per cent at present. Thirty-five additional platforms across the Jubilee and Northern lines will have platform humps by the end of 2013. This includes current step-free stations such as Golders Green and
Kilburn, and key step-free interchanges such as Baker Street and Stockwell.

– New trains and improved stations
By the end of 2014 we will have transformed the fleet of Hammersmith & City and Circle line trains. We are introducing 53 new state-of-the-art, air-conditioned trains. These will have wide doors, dedicated spaces for wheelchair users, a low-floor design for improved access between the train and platform, multi-purpose spaces throughout and advanced audio and visual information. 

Between 2013 and 2016, an additional 80 new trains with these features will be introduced to the District line, meaning that 40 per cent of the Tube network will be served by air-conditioned trains with high standards of accessibility. By summer 2013 we will install an extra 80 wide-aisle gates at 60 stations and introduce tactile paving on all platform edges across the network.

We will continue to deliver small scale but important physical accessibility improvements on the Tube, including handrail enhancements, colour contrast features, tactile paving on stairs, and replacement of obsolete help points.
Thirty-seven more stations will be completed by the end of 2016, and a further 37 by 2020.

Crossrail trains will have clearly distinguished priority seats as well as dedicated spaces for wheelchair users. Each carriage will provide visual and audio information about the journey, and a facility to alert and speak to the driver in the event of an emergency. In addition to the work on new stations in central London, all existing surface stations will be upgraded to provide accessibility enhancements including
tactile surfaces, lighting, additional handrails and accessible toilets at most locations.

Buses
We are investing £18m to improve bus stop accessibility and are on-track to make 70 per cent of bus stops accessible by spring 2013. 

By the end of 2016 we aim to make sure that at least 95 per cent of stops will meet the fully accessible criteria and plans will be put in place to complete the programme in the shortest possible time.

We recently launched a new customer information campaign to provide clarity on the use of the wheelchair bay, which will continue until spring 2013. The bay is primarily for wheelchair users and all London buses have clear notices displayed prominently on board advising passengers of this. If a buggy is stored in the bay when a disabled passenger attempts to board, passengers are asked to move or fold down the buggy.

Facilities for pedestrians
Further improvements will be made to improve the accessibility of London’s streets over the next four years. By spring 2015 Pedestrian Countdown, which shows people how long they have to cross the road, will be rolled out at 200 sites across the Capital. 

Alongside this, by spring 2016, we will upgrade the remaining 276 (or six per cent of) signalised pedestrian crossings in London to include rotating cones and/
or audible signals and tactile paving. 

We will expand the use of Legible London signs across the Capital. These clear and consistent maps make it easier to navigate London’s streets and aim to encourage more walking journeys. New town centres which will soon have these street signs include Clapham Junction, Brixton, Kingston and Bromley.

We will continue to deliver pedestrian improvement schemes at locations including Tottenham Hale, Highbury Corner, Elephant & Castle Northern roundabout, Waterloo roundabout and Vauxhall. These form part of a review of 500 junctions across London. 

In addition we will continue to work with boroughs to improve the accessibility of streets across the Capital, including funding a wide range of pedestrian and public realm improvements. This will see significant improvements made in locations including Aldgate, Bromley, Croydon, Harlesden, Tolworth, Wood Green and the West End.

We are also planning a trial of new technology that will detect groups of people at pedestrian crossings and adjust the crossing time given to pedestrians to make sure that queues are cleared. We hope to have developed a prototype for this innovative
technology by the end of 2013.

Taxis
Over the next year we will develop a taxi ranks action plan. We will review the accessibility of ranks at London’s mainline rail stations so that you can use taxis more easily. Other improvements will include:

•	Monthly on-street compliance activities from 2013 to check that accessibility features in taxis, such as wheelchair ramps and swivel seats, are in working order and drivers know how to use them. Where an accessibility feature is not working, the taxi until the feature is fixed
•	Developing systems over the next two years to support our Cabwise and Findaride services, which should see an increase in the number of private hire operators registered with the service and make it easier for all users to book a taxi or private hire vehicle. Over the next four years the services will continue to be promoted across London

Improved customer experience
Our transport staff do a great job of guiding and helping customers access our transport network. However we are serious about improving your experiences of travel in London, which means giving more expertise to our staff about how best to assist you. We will do this by:

•	Developing a team of accessibility champions within our contact centres, who will have an in-depth understanding of accessible travel in London. By summer 2013 this team will have enhanced training and will be able to provide you with a better service, as well as share their knowledge with colleagues
•	Improving the quality of our responses to complaints, making sure that we deal fully with your concerns and that your feedback leads to the changes you want to see 
•	Simplifying our online contact system to make it easier for you to give us feedback. We are also changing the way we log and categorise complaints, so we can better identify trends and specific issues that need addressing. We will publish accessibility complaints data as part of our quarterly complaints report
•	Improving training for Tube staff so you get the level of support you need on every journey, with three major initiatives: 

– From summer 2013 we will introduce new training for front-line-staff. For the first time we will make sure that older and disabled people play an active part in the development of the new training. A key feature of this will be an  emphasis on practical operational scenarios to help staff demonstrate and develop their customer service skills

– By the end of 2013 we will have created five accessibility centre-of-excellence stations, whose staff will have an enhanced level of disability
training, delivered in partnership with disabled people. We will then evaluate
this programme and if appropriate roll-out to other stations that are most used by older and disabled passengers 

– To ensure staff training is as effective as possible, key members of our training team will receive additional guidance on accessibility issues. This will make them experts in accessibility and enhance their skills. Again we will involve disabled people in this additional training

•	Working with bus operators to thoroughly review bus driver training. Progress in this area is already under way:

– By spring 2013 we will launch a new training DVD for bus drivers, developed in partnership with disabled bus passengers. It will feature
customers’ stories about their own experiences of bus travel and explain
how drivers’ actions can ensure consistently safe and comfortable trips

– From summer 2013, all bus drivers will receive new training which will include, as a key element, the additional involvement of older and disabled people 
– We will roll out a programme of local events where older and disabled people will be able to meet with bus drivers and managers at their local garage. This will improve drivers’ understanding of the barriers passengers face and how they can help

•	Consulting with the taxi trade on the introduction of customer service training during the Knowledge. Our aim is for all drivers to benefit from disability and diversity awareness training before being licensed
•	Conducting monthly on-street checks to make sure that the accessibility features of taxis, such as wheelchair ramps, are in working order and drivers know how to use them. Taxis without these features working will be taken out of service until they are repaired 
•	Working with the Association of Train Operating Companies to review the Passenger Assist booking system with the aim of simplifying the booking process for disabled customers needing assistance. We will also look at ways to support people who prefer not to pre-book. These improvements would affect London Overground as it is part of the National Rail network
•	Expanding the travel mentoring service across the Capital, aiming to have a  local mentoring project running in 90 per cent of London boroughs by spring 2016. We are currently involved in collaborative travel mentoring projects in 21 of the 33 London boroughs, and are encouraging the expansion of provision through and with external partners

We will make sure that alongside our work to remove physical barriers to access, we
train staff in the needs of people with hidden disabilities, such as communication and learning disabilities. This includes how they can best communicate with and support people when it is less clear what assistance they may need.

Better engagement
While we make these changes we want to hear your thoughts and those of other disabled customers. We already engage with a large number of groups representing disabled people, but we want to further improve our relationship with disabled Londoners. We will:

•	Continue and extend engagement with disabled people’s organisations, making sure these groups are involved in all aspects of our service development. We will hold regular meetings and roundtables to keep stakeholders up-to-date and involve them in improving the accessibility of the network. We will make ourselves easy to contact, available and responsive to your needs
•	Develop sub-regional borough mobility forums open to all disabled people so that you can be involved in dealing with local and wider strategic issues. We will also share ideas and work to improve services further. The pilot forum will launch in spring 2013 and we aim to have them in place across London by 2014 
•	Keep you informed with accessibility-related service updates via email, starting in summer 2013. We will start maintaining an opt-in database of customers who want to receive this information, which will allow us to spread news of service changes more widely and directly to disabled and older people 
•	Make the ‘Thinking outside the bus’ event an annual opportunity for disabled people’s organisations to meet with senior representatives from TfL and the bus operators to discuss their concerns and issues with bus travel 
•	Develop a sister event for Tube and rail services, which will launch in summer 2013. This will be an opportunity for you to meet senior staff from across the organisation including the customer service centre, staff training and station upgrade teams. Station staff, especially from stations we know are  challenging in terms of accessibility, would also attend. Both events will increase and encourage communication between our staff and customers, developing greater mutual understanding and deliver improvements to our services
•	Hold a targeted recruitment drive for DaR for groups in greatest need of the service. By spring 2013 we will have contacted and visited organisations and forums across London that help us reach the people in most need of the service. These include people over-85, those on the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance, people registered blind or partially sighted and those on a War Pension mobility supplement

Get involved

The next four years are an exciting time for the accessibility of the transport network,
where more and more improvements will be introduced to make it even easier to get
around the city.

As we make these improvements, and seek the solutions to some of the problems that disabled Londoners have faced, we want you to help us. We’ve already received some great feedback from you to help us develop this document. Now, we want to hear from you about your experiences and your thoughts, and ideas for how we
can further enhance the accessibility of London’s transport network.

Please contact Michèle Dix, Managing Director of Planning, and our equalities lead.

Email her at: TfLAccessibility@tfl.gov.uk

Write to her at:
Transport for London
Windsor House
42-50 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0TL

Or call us on: 0843 222 1234 to leave your feedback.

Summary of improvements

More accessible information
By summer 2013	Tube signage and wayfinding review completed
Accessibility signage renewed
Improvement to step-free information on the Tube map
Step-free rail map for London
Redeveloped the transport accessibility part of our website
Real-time travel apps produced
Step-free Tube guide data made available
New accessibility Twitter feed launched	
In 2014	Redeveloped website launched
Journey Planner upgraded
Interactive Tube map	

Enhanced infrastructure
2013	Future of manual boarding ramps announced
Tactile paving on all Tube platforms
80 more wide-aisle gates introduced on the Tube
70 per cent of bus stops meet accessibility criteria	
2014	Greenford station step-free
Paddington station step-free to Hammersmith & City line
Current Access for All programme completed (1)
New fleet of Hammersmith & City and Circle line trains in full use	
2015/16	Vauxhall, Finsbury Park, Bromley-by-Bow, Whitechapel,
Tower Hill step-free
Bank step-free to Waterloo & City line
Roll-out of 200 Pedestrian Countdown sites completed (2)	
2016/17	Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street step-free
A third of the Tube network will have level access platforms
New fleet of District line trains in full use
37 more Tube stations upgraded
95 per cent of bus stops meet accessibility criteria
Upgrades to signalised pedestrian crossings completed	
2018/19	Victoria, Barbican, Ealing Broadway step-free
Crossrail opens	
2019/20	Elephant & Castle step-free to Northern line	
2020/21	Bank step-free to Northern line
Additional journey time for step-free journeys will have reduced by a quarter
A further 37 Tube stations upgraded	

Improving the customer experience
2013	Accessibility champions introduced in the contact centres (3)
New training for frontline Tube staff
First five Tube centre-of-excellence stations (4)
Enhanced skills for our Tube training staff
New training DVD for bus drivers launched
Consultation with taxi trade on customer service training
Monthly on-street checks of taxis	
2016	Travel mentoring projects running in 90 per cent of London boroughs	

Better engagement
2013	Sub-regional forums pilot
Accessibility updates by email
Second annual ‘Thinking outside the bus’ event
First Tube engagement event
Targeted recruitment to Dial-a-Ride	
2014	Roll-out of sub regional forums	

Footnotes
1. A Government programme to address issues faced by disabled people at UK
rail stations
2. Digital displays at crossings which show people how much time they have left to safely cross the road
3. Contact centre staff with in-depth knowledge of accessible travel in London, who are available to better assist customers
4. Tube stations where staff will have an advanced level of disability training

Appendix
Future Tube and London Overground step-free stations

Tube

2014/15:
• Greenford

2015/16:
• Vauxhall
• Whitechapel (delivered
as part of Crossrail)
• Finsbury Park
• Tower Hill
• Bromley-by-Bow

2016/17:
• Bond Street
• Tottenham Court Road
• Ascot Road (delivered as part of Croxley Rail link)
• Watford Hospital (delivered as part of Croxley Rail link)
• Watford Junction (delivered as part of Croxley Rail link)

2018/19:
• Victoria
• Ealing Broadway (delivered as part of Crossrail)
• Barbican (delivered as part of Crossrail via Farringdon station)

2020/21:
• Nine Elms (delivered by the Northern line extension)
• Battersea (delivered by the Northern line extension)

Total: 16 step-free Tube stations delivered by 2021/22

London Overground

2012/13:
• Denmark Hill

2013/14:
• Brockley
• Honor Oak Park
• New Cross

2014/15:
• Blackhorse Road
• Crystal Palace
• Hampstead Heath
• Kensal Rise
• New Cross Gate
• Queens Road Peckham
• South Tottenham
• West Hampstead

2015/16:
• Whitechapel (delivered as part of Crossrail)

Total: 12 step-free London Overground stations delivered by 2021/22

National Rail stations receiving step-free access by 2014 with Access for All funding

Balham
Blackheath
Blackhorse Road
Brockley
Bromley South
Camden Road
Chadwell Heath
Clapham Junction
Crayford
Crystal Palace
Denmark Hill
Earlsfield
Edmonton Green
Finsbury Park
Forest Hill
Gospel Oak
Grove Park
Hackbridge
Hackney Central
Hampstead Heath
Herne Hill
Highbury & Islington
Honor Oak Park
Ilford
Kensal Rise

Kingston
Lewisham
Limehouse
New Cross
New Cross Gate
New Eltham
New Malden
Orpington
Purley
Putney
Queens Road Peckham
South Tottenham
Streatham Common
Streatham Hill
Swanley
Thornton Heath
Tottenham Hale
Vauxhall
Wembley Central
West Hampstead
West Hampstead Thameslink
Worcester Park

For information
This document is available online at tfl.gov.uk/mobility in PDF, rich text, audio,
and British Sign Language versions.

If you would like a copy of any of these please email TfLAccessibility@tfl.gov.uk

Braille copies can be produced on request.

© Transport for London
Windsor House
42 – 50 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0TL
December 2012
tfl.gov.uk

PS12_070 Accessibility Report 2012 AW