The
Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) have today confirmed that the
number of accessible bus stops in the Capital has risen by
more than 50 per cent since 2008.
Latest
figures show that bus stop accessibility has improved dramatically over
the last few years – rising from 29 per cent in 2008
to the current 80 per cent level. An £18m investment announced in 2013
has put the bus stop accessibility programme on track to ensure that at
least 95 per cent of bus stops on London’s roads will be accessible by
2016.
TfL
has worked closely with local authority partners to achieve this as a
significant proportion of the Capital’s 19,500 bus stops
are not on the TfL Road Network (TLRN). Across the TLRN 95 per cent of
stops already are accessible – with a target of 99 per cent to be
achieved by 2016.
Being
accessible means that stops have a kerb that’s high enough for the
wheelchair ramp to deploy and for the step into the bus to
be at a reasonable height for older or disabled people to board. It
also means there’s a protected ‘clearway’ so only buses can use the stop
and it is free from any street furniture or clutter blocking access to
the doors.
All
8,700 buses in the TfL fleet (apart from a small number of heritage
Routemaster buses operating for tourists on route 15) are
low floor, wheelchair accessible and fitted with wheelchair ramps. Low
floor, wheelchair accessible buses were introduced on all routes in
London by the beginning of 2006, ten years ahead of the legal
requirement set out by the Disability Discrimination Act.
Buses are also able to ‘kneel’ to pavement level to make it easier for
older or disabled passengers to board.
The
£18m funding for bus stop accessibility is part of a wider programme,
announced by TfL and the Mayor in 2013, that will see hundreds
of millions of pounds invested in accessibility improvements across the
Capital’s public transport network – including a further 28 step-free
London Underground and London Overground stations over the next 10
years. To date £8.4m of the £18m has been used
to fund these accessibility works with around £5m expected to be
invested in both 2015/16 and in 2016/17.
Isabel
Dedring, Deputy Mayor for Transport, said: “We are now well on our way
to reaching the 95 per cent target for accessible bus
stops as set out in the Mayor’s accessibility action plan. Of course,
we will be working hard to look for ways to go beyond this target, but
this is an important step forward in giving all Londoners the freedom to
travel around our city more easily.”
Leon
Daniels, TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport, said: “We
continue to do all that we can to improve in this area and to
ensure that our staff and services meet all accessibility needs -
reaching the 80 per cent milestone for bus stop accessibility is a
significant step. London has the most accessible bus fleet in the world
with each of its 8,700 buses low floor, wheelchair
accessible and fitted with a wheelchair ramp. On-board audible and
visual announcements are also used across our bus and rail networks to
help people with sight and hearing loss.”
Janet
Cooke, Chief Executive of London TravelWatch, said: “Over the last few
years we have been pushing for improvements to be made
at bus stops so that they meet the needs of all passengers so it is
very good news that 80 per cent of London’s bus stops are now
accessible. However, there is still more work to be done and we look
forward to supporting TfL and the London Boroughs as they
work towards their target of making 95 per cent of all London’s bus
stops accessible by 2016.”
Around
95 per cent of London residents live within 400 metres of a bus stop,
and the vast majority of these can be used by all bus
passengers, including wheelchair users.