Our five election demands for accessible transport
Transport for All
London is one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Yet many transport services remain out of bounds for its disabled and older citizens...
London is one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Yet many transport services remain out of bounds for its disabled and older citizens.
The Mayoral and London Assembly elections are a big deal. The new Mayor of London will take the helm of Transport for London, the capital’s transport authority. In practise that means that he or she will oversee how our buses, tubes, trains, trams, Dial-a-Ride, taxicard, river boats and streets are run and managed.
We are calling on all of the Mayoral and London Assembly candidates to sign up to our five demands for a transport network that everyone can use. Disabled and older people want to be able to travel with the same freedom and independence as everyone else.
1) Improve the Bus user experience for disabled and older Londoners
Incentivise bus companies through stricter penalties to enforce wheelchair priority in the wheelchair bay, and to enforce pulling right up to the bus stop, pulling into the kerb, and giving people enough time to sit down before the bus moves off.
Work with passenger groups and invest in more spacious buses so that wheelchair/mobility scooter users, assistance dog users, people with walkers and buggies etc. are not put into conflict when travelling.
2) More investment into making the Tube and railway stations fully accessible
Increase the pace of making Tube and railway stations accessible. Only a quarter of the Tube is step-free to platform, and step-free upgrades are happening too slowly.
3) Door-to-Door transport services that meet the needs of London’s growing older population
We need reliable and affordable door-to-door services that end the postcode lottery of trips and allows disabled and older Londoners to travel further than five miles.
4) Ensure that at least 25% of London’s minicabs (PHVs) are wheelchair/mobility scooter accessible
The new Mayor must incentivise the industry and implement measures (already introduced in other UK cities) to tackle the dearth of accessible minicabs.
5) Nothing about us without us
Reinstate the structures at City Hall that facilitated genuine engagement and consultation including twice-yearly meetings between Transport for All and the Deputy Mayor for Transport.
Take action
Question your Mayoral and Assembly candidates and cast your vote with transport access in mind.
Question your candidates
Up until the election there will be lots of opportunities (e.g. hustings, radio call-ins) to ask Mayoral and Assembly candidates about these issues and to find out if they’ll support equality for disabled and older transport users. We’d love to hear how you get on: phone us, email us or tweet us and let us know what your candidates committed to.
Go out and vote!
Disabled people represent over 14% of the population in London, yet we remain one of the most marginalised groups in society. Participating in the democratic process is our right.
Download our five election demands, in PDF or in it’s accessible Word version.
Joint demands: Disabled People’s Challenge to the next Mayor of London
Transport for All together with Inclusion London and the Alliance for Inclusive Education published a joint Mayoral and London Assembly Elections 2016manifesto for more equality in area such as housing, education and transport.
You can download the manisfesto in its PDF version or accessible version (word document).
for more equality in area such as housing, education and transport.
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