From the report
After decades campaigning for safer streets, more toilets, and a transport network for all Londoners, yesterday Caroline Russell AM hosted Transport for All at City Hall to launch the group’s new report, Accessibility Review of the PTAL Index.
Produced by Frontier Economics and Revealing Reality with funding from the Motability Foundation, the Accessibility Review measures how transport accessibility is currently classified for planning purposes, and recommends different indicators be used to better serve the needs of disabled people.
The only transport access criteria used on a statutory basis in London, a Public Transport Access Level (PTAL) figure measures the level of access to public transport in the capital, and is calculated using several factors:
- Walking distance to the nearest stations/stops;
- Waiting times at the nearest stations/stops;
- Number of services at the nearest stations/stops; and
- Distance to major rail stations.
Informed through research by and engagement with disabled people and using King’s Cross, Soho and Southwark as test cases, the Accessibility Review builds on these traditional PTAL metrics by suggesting new criteria to more accurately reflect accessibility across London’s transport network.
The additional criteria suggested in the report are measures which:
- only includes stations or stops with step-free access
- rank less crowded stations as more accessible
- rank stations without toilet facilities as less accessible
Caroline Russell AM speaking at the report launch
Green Party London Assembly Member Caroline Russell said:
If we want to build a city that works for absolutely everyone, then we need to start by understanding exactly what matters to disabled and visually impaired Londoners travelling around our city.
I was proud to host Transport for All here at City Hall for the unveiling of their new report, which I hope will provide a much-needed blueprint for improving the way we address and expand accessibility measures in our planning policy.
Deborah Persaud, a research participant and Chair of Transport for All said:
London should be a city for everyone, but current planning systems result in many disabled people being effectively barred from parts of the city. It’s time Transport for London added accessibility measures to planning calculations, so London can start to be truly open to everyone.
A copy of the full report, Accessibility Review of the PTAL Index, can be viewed here.
