Accessibility of the transport network in London

This report reveals step-free access and other accessibility measures on London’s transport network fall far short of demand.

Our Transport Committee found more than one in 10 Londoners are excluded from large sections of the public transport network because buses, trains and stations are not accessible to people with reduced mobility.

Key findings include:

• Only 10 of London’s 270 Tube stations are completely step-free all the way from street level to train. Only 61 Tube stations have step-free access from the street to the platform.
• Just one-third of London’s 300 rail stations have step-free access from street to platform.
• While all London’s buses now have ramps, only half of London’s 17,476 bus stops meet the criteria for full accessibility.

Compare the Tube, Overground rail and DLR stations map with our map showing stations with step-free access from platform to street.

Watch a video about the report:

Recommendations

We call on the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) to do more to demonstrate their commitment to improving accessibility, especially as the number of Londoners with reduced mobility is set to increase.

We recommend a series of relatively low-cost measures that TfL should prioritise. These include: allowing manual ramps at some terminating or outlying Tube stations; providing detailed information on TfL’s Journey Planner about things like step heights and how accessible interchanges are; improved training and guidance for bus drivers; and more publicity about who is entitled to use the accessibility bay on buses.