Procedure for no staff with Ramp at destination station
Request ID: FOI-1797-2425 Date published: 27 September 2024
You asked
If a requested mini ramp or boarding ramp fails to meet with a mobility aid user at their destination, what can the mobility aid user do to resolve the situation?
Please provide instructions for all relevant TfL services (Tube, London Overground, Elizabeth line etc.)
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-1797-2425
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 1st September 2024 asking for information about the use of ramps on TfL services.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked:
“If a requested mini ramp or boarding ramp fails to meet with a mobility aid user at their destination, what can the mobility aid user do to resolve the situation? Please provide instructions for all relevant TfL services (Tube, London Overground, Elizabeth line etc.)”.
On 6th September 2024 you added:
“To clarify my request:
What is the official advice/instruction given to mobility aids users via TfL communication (guides, websites etc), representatives and agents (Customer service, Travel mentors etc) to resolve a situation where a requested mini ramp or boarding ramp fails to meet with a mobility aid user at their destination?
If the vehicle departs the destination before the mobility aid user deboards, what is the advice/instruction?
Please provide instructions for all relevant TfL services (Tube, London Overground, Elizabeth line etc) in a table.
If there is no official advice/instruction, please state the reason.”
I can confirm that we hold the information you require. Your questions are answered in turn below:
Question 1: What is the official advice/instruction given to mobility aids users via TfL communication (guides, websites etc), representatives and agents (Customer service, Travel mentors etc) to resolve a situation where a requested mini ramp or boarding ramp fails to meet with a mobility aid user at their destination?
Answer: We publish travel tips for passengers using our services safely on our website here:
There is an emergency passenger alarm at a reachable height in the accessible carriage should you need it. You can use this to speak with the driver if you need help
This information is also shared with customers via our Customer Contact Centre and Travel Mentoring team as required and appropriate.
Question 2: If the vehicle departs the destination before the mobility aid user deboards, what is the advice/instruction?
Answer: We offer a turn up and go staff assistance service to all customers on London Underground, London Overground and Elizabeth line services. More information about our turn up and go service can be found here:
As part of our turn up and go service, we always advise customers with accessibility requirements to make themselves known to a member of staff at their departure station so we can check their planned route is free from disruption (e.g. lift faults) and also check that there are staff available to assist the customer off the train at their destination station and any interchange stations, including deploying a boarding ramp or mini ramp if required.
The station staff at the departure station will notify the customer’s destination station when the customer is on board the train (including sharing the train number, customer’s car position and the customer’s estimated arrival time) so they can arrange to have a member of staff waiting on the platform to assist the customer off the train with a boarding ramp or mini ramp if required. This process is repeated for each ‘leg’ of the customer’s journey.
If a customer wishes to get off a train using a boarding ramp or mini ramp, and a member of staff is not waiting on the platform to assist them off when they arrive at the station, there is an emergency passenger alarm at a reachable height in the accessible carriage(s) should the customer need it. Customers can use this alarm to speak with the driver if they need help at their destination station including alerting the driver that they have not been helped off the train with a boarding ramp or mini ramp as originally requested.
When a customer presses the emergency passenger alarm, the driver will speak with the customer to understand what assistance is required. The driver will then contact the Service Control team who are responsible for managing train services on the line. The Service Control team will in turn contact the destination station to arrange for a member of staff to come to the platform with a boarding or mini ramp and help the customer off the train.
If the train has left the customer’s intended destination station, Service Control will liaise with the next accessible station team on the line to alert them that there is a wheelchair user on the train who needs assistance off the train. They will arrange for a member of staff to help the customer off the train, and help the customer re-plan their journey if required. This may involve arranging turn up and go assistance for the customer so they can travel back to their original planned destination station or arranging an accessible taxi at TfL’s expense to take the customer to their original planned destination station (or any other accessible station in the Greater London area) – whichever is quicker and more convenient for the customer.
Question 3: Please provide instructions for all relevant TfL services (Tube, London Overground, Elizabeth line etc) in a table. And; Question 4: If there is no official advice/instruction, please state the reason.” Answer: The process outlined above is the same for London Underground, London Overground and Elizabeth Line services – i.e. the customer should use the on-board emergency passenger alarm to speak with the driver who will arrange the appropriate assistance off the train. As the DLR is step-free from train to platform, customers can board and alight independently without using a boarding ramp.
If this is not the information you are looking forplease do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
