Launch of ‘turn up and go’ on London Overground
Transport for All
To be able to ‘turn up and go’ is taken...
To be able to ‘turn up and go’ is taken for granted by non-disabled people when they arrive at an Overground, Tube or Rail station. However, for many disabled people, pre booking assistance is another part of the inaccessible transport network we have to contend with on a daily basis.
Today however Transport for London are removing this requirement for the London Overground network and launching their ‘turn up and go’ service. Obviously this doesn’t mean that the whole Overground is fully accessible: Forty-three of the eighty-three London Overground station are currently inaccessible from pavement to platform (6 more stations will be accessible by the end of 2014). But we greatly welcome this initiative and hope that Rail companies also follow suit and remove the 24 hour notice that disabled people have to give in order to travel by train
Visually impaired people will be able to use the turn-up-and-go assistance to arrange for a member of staff to meet and guide them off the train to the right platform or to the exit. And wheelchair and scooter users, as well as those who cannot manage large steps or gaps, are able to ensure that a staff member is able to be meet them off the train with a ramp.
Watch the report produced by BBC London News:
