News
How do the Mayoral Candidates compare on their stated commitments to transport access?
Added: 24 April 2012 | Updated: 25 April 2012
As the race to become London’s next Mayor gathers pace, many disabled and older Londoners will be keen to understand what each of the Mayoral candidates has committed in terms of making London’s transport more accessible.
One month ago, Transport for All published A manifesto for a world-class accessible transport system. This sets out five manifesto demands on opening up London’s transport network to older and disabled people, as the basis for action in for the next Mayor.
We have analysed the commitments made by each of the main four candidates, both in their manifestos and at hustings, and have assessed this against our own manifesto demands.
Read the manifesto assessment here.
The good news is that three out of four of the Mayoral candidates have pledged to implement all five of the manifesto demands! However, Boris Johnson has not yet agreed to implement any of the manifesto demands.
Our five manifesto demands are:
- Implement penalties for bus companies which regularly fail to meet minimum standards in relation to access for wheelchairs; broken ramps; pulling into the kerb and giving passengers enough time to sit down
- Ensure that at least a third of London’s Tube stations are step-free by 2018, including from platform to train
- Restore all the staff axed from the Underground and ensure assistance is reliably available including on London Overground.
- Lift the cap placed on TfL’s contribution to the Taxicard service
- Commit to a target of 100% of bus stops to be accessible by 2018
Addressing these issues presents an historic opportunity for the next Mayor to transform London into a beacon of inclusion and equality, and at hustings events, the ability to use transport with the same rights as non-disabled people has come up again and again.
As the Olympics and Paralymics approach, the inaccessibility of London’s transport system will be in the spotlight as never before. More and more, people are recognising that it’s not just disabled and older people who benefit from an accessible transport network. Tourists, parents with pushchairs, carers, people with luggage and other non-disabled passengers can also travel with greater ease and comfort.
We think that it’s scandalous that London’s transport is not currently a public transport system. Disabled and older people are fed up of being excluded from socialising, from jobs, from London’s rich cultural and civic life, because it is so difficult for us to get from A to B.
The listing of parties’ policies does not signify any endorsement of the policies or of any party or parties. The inclusion of policies does not imply support or opposition. Transport for All is entirely independent of all political parties.
The transcript of the Older and Disabled Person’s hustings we co-hosted with Inclusion London is available here, including what candidates promised from the platform.
If you’d like to know more, most candidates have released a transport manifesto and some have released a manifesto about accessibility explicitly and about what they would do for older Londoners. These are available through their campaign websites.