The chief operating officer of London Underground responds to criticism of station overhauls
Last week, a blog on Left Foot Forward claimed that our Fit for the Future plans for London Underground (LU) would make it harder for disabled Londoners to access the Tube. In fact, the opposite is true. From the start, our plans have been based around people – our staff and customers – and are designed to improve the service for everyone. There are now 43 LU stations operating without a ticket window and customers are starting to see improvements across the network.
This includes more of our staff visible to help customers in ticket halls, at gate lines and on platforms. We already have, and will always have, staff at every station whenever trains are running. Together with London Overground we are the only UK railway to offer a ‘turn-up-and-go’ assistance service for people who need help from staff, with no need to pre-book. Having more staff in the public areas of the station makes it easier for people to access this service. We’re also making sure that every ticket hall has a ‘help point’, fitted with a hearing aid induction loop, so customers can contact staff whenever they need to.
In addition a new and comprehensive training programme being rolled out to all our station teams this year, to prepare them for their new roles. One of our key aims is to help staff support our disabled customers and, importantly, we are involving disabled people’s organisations in the design and delivery of that training. By next year, every LU station staff member will have had disability equality training, delivered by a disabled trainer.
In stations, we are changing our ticket machines to allow customers to make all the transactions they previously made at ticket offices – including refunds – and our staff will be there to support anyone who needs help using the machines. But, moving with the times, we’re also helping people use our services without any cash transaction, using contactless bank cards, Oyster cards and telephone and online services.
The other significant change people will see at stations is an improvement to information, with dedicated areas in stations for customer information, such as maps and leaflets, as well as improvements to signage. All of this will make the Tube simpler and more consistent to navigate. This helps everyone, but particularly those who find the network challenging or confusing at present. Staff are also being equipped with mobile devices loaded with information including maps, real-time service updates, our Journey Planner, ticket options and much more – so they’ll always have information at their fingertips to help customers.
Dozens of ticket halls are now operating without a ticket office, and early signs show that the new arrangements are working well. Our passengers using stations without tickets offices are telling us they are more satisfied with the experience than they were before the changes. In particular, staff have been proven to be more available and more helpful at stations operating our new customer service model.
As our changes roll out across the network this year, we will keep focused on our core promises to customers: more staff on hand to help, better information to help plan and make journeys, and a range of ways to pay to suit all needs.
Disabled Londoners wanting to start using London Underground (or any other type of transport in the city) can be helped by TfL’s travel mentoring service. It works across the Capital to build the knowledge and confidence people need to make the most of the transport network. Contact travelmentor@tfl.gov.uk or 020 3054 4361 for more information, or visit the TfL website.
Nick Brown is the chief operating officer of London Underground
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15 Responses to “How London Underground is helping disabled customers”
Leon Wolfeson
Exactly. mass genocide by nuke. Radiation blows on the wind, of course.
You don’t need to say explicitly you hate when you’re talking about genocide. As you claim that a Jew posting relevant posts is “pissing”, as you come here and attack in an unrelated thread, advocating your usual genocide.
Then you pretend to be a “buddy”, when you’re a ranting Jewhater, come here to troll. Your claims that I must be limited to what you allow me to think are of course standard far right nonsense, and I’m not your kind of sadist, get over it Lord Blagger.
sam
At least your entertaining.
Radiation fences have been around for a long time. Radioactive pellets in a bomb, render a evacuated area uninhabitable. Thereby idiots that want to kill the rest of the world, would be fenced in, to live out the rest of their lives causing only harm to one another. No one in, no one out.
You added the killing, and mass destruction, with your 1950’s ignorant, presumption of how radiation fences work.
that takes care of your first paragraph.
The next accusation of my supposed Jewish hatred, would be a good laugh for all the people that know how much time I put in to writing my congressman and senators, e mails, phone calls, and explaining to people ( voters ) that do not understand, why The piece of crap president we have is making the biggest mistake in our history, by putting Israel in danger, not protecting the Jewish people.
Guest
No, of course there’s nothing such actually done or used, and your silly plan would render vast and spreading areas entirely uninhabitable. You’d just kill a lot of people.
You keep talking about how I “suppose” your clear plan to get rid of Israel, for instance, and I don’t underestimate how much time you spend lobbying for your hate.
You “guess” – i,e, you demand I fit your stereotype.
No, I understand you perfectly, Lord Blagger, it’s problem as you say that Jews are not human again.
sam
Turing test.
you can not be human.
whoever wrote this program, I’m calling you on it.
not so nice of you letting it spread hatred.
Guest
“JEWS ARE NOT HUMAN”
As you accuse me of your program, Lord Blagger. Again.