Many stations lack step-free access, making it harder for disabled and older Londoners to get around without advance planning.
Passengers with mobility needs are sometimes forced to disembark at stations which aren’t the closest one to their destination and then complete their journey via a bus or other means.
On Tuesday, Transport for London announced it would double the budget for making stations step-free to £150 million, a move it claimed would ensure “the Mayor’s target of 50 per cent of rail and Tube stations being made step-free by 2018 is on-track.”
News of the extra money has been welcomed by Faryal Velmi, Director of Transport for All who said: “We are delighted that TfL’s station accessibility fund has been doubled to £150million. At the moment, three quarters of the Tube lacks stepfree access, and remains out of bounds to thousands of disabled and older Londoners.
“We look forward to more details about how this accessibility fund will work and which stations will benefit from it.
“We urge the next Mayor to ring fence and turbo-power TfL’s step-free funding programme and so that disabled and older people are able to travel with the same freedom and independence as everyone else.”
