We spoke to Deputy Mayor for Transport Seb Dance about the importance of having infrastructure for everyone at TFL stations, and wheelchair user James Lee.
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00:00 Can you just tell us a little bit about why we're here?
00:03 Today we've been at Tottenham Hell trying out the new mini-ramp from Transport for London
00:09 which is being used to help customers who use mobility equipment to overcome some of
00:17 the gaps on the network where they can't quite get from train to platform with the level
00:23 of ease that we'd like to see.
00:26 Only public transport has to be public, that means it has to be accessible for everybody.
00:31 We can't just have sections of society that are locked out of the public transport system.
00:36 It's really impressive here at Tottenham Hell to see the improvements that have been made.
00:39 Not only has the lift been upgraded but they now have these lightweight but robust ramps
00:45 to enable people with particular types of wheelchair to board trains, effectively have
00:51 level boarding.
00:53 I think certainly speaking to my experience and the experiences of friends and colleagues
00:59 who face similar challenges to myself, we've really seen an improvement over the last decade
01:07 on the network, a really marked improvement.
01:11 I think just today or recently, TfL are talking about increasing the number of step-free stations
01:18 from a third to half on the network which is a real big thing, especially within the
01:23 funding constraints that they're trying to work within.
01:25 Would you like to see them go the whole way though?
01:29 Of course, absolutely.
01:31 And colleagues at TfL will tell you the same thing, that they would love for the infrastructure
01:34 to be completely step-free and to be as accessible as possible.
01:40 The step-free access programme across the network is of huge importance of course and
01:44 what we want to do is increase the number of stations across the network from a third
01:48 to a half.
01:49 Obviously we want a situation where all stations are fully accessible but this is a key milestone
01:53 on that journey.
01:55 But also in addition to the physical infrastructure changes, there's also a lot of training
02:00 that is being delivered for TfL staff as well as for passengers as well to enable people
02:06 to recognise the different needs that people have when travelling across the network.
02:11 If you find it hard to navigate around the infrastructure that we've got in place, it
02:16 can be really damaging for people.
02:18 It can really knock your confidence if you're trying to make a journey and that journey
02:23 goes poorly.
02:24 Using things like the mini-ramp and the assistance from staff and the steps that TfL are taking
02:30 to try and make the network more inclusive and more accessible are huge for building
02:34 my confidence, are huge for building my sense of independence.
02:38 It's massive for me to be able to go to work and feel confident and independent in the
02:44 journey that I'm taking.
02:45 It's massive for me to be able to go to a hospital appointment and feel confident and
02:50 have independence in the journey that I'm taking.
02:53 It's huge for me to be able to go out and see friends and feel confident and independent
02:56 in the journey I'm taking.
02:58 These are all really important things for people and it's why what TfL are doing is
03:02 really welcome.
03:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]