Request ID: FOI-4719-2324 Date published: 16 April 2024
You asked
1. How do you prioritise installing step-free access in stations that currently don't have this? i.e. what data you use to inform this, public consultations, passenger forums etc.
2. How many step-free access stations are situated near NHS hospitals in London?
3. How many passengers have requested access to use the ramp for wheelchair access to enable on and/or offboarding at step free access stations on the London Overground service between Liverpool Street and Enfield Town/Cheshunt?
4. How many more stations are you planning to work on with step free access over the next few years? And how were they selected? And which ones?
5. How many passengers use the following (tap in out out with oyster/card):
Silver Street station
Seven Sisters station
White Hart Lane station
Edmonton Green
over the past year? And on average how many on a daily and weekly basis? If you can share full/detailed statistics on this that would be great
6. How many of those passengers in Question 5 use the Freedom Pass?
7. How many passengers board/tap oyster or card for the bus to North Middlesex University Hospital using the tfl bus routes (again detailed stats as per question 5):
34 Barnet - Walthamstow Central station - Barnet
102 Edmonton Green - Golders Green
149 Ponders End to Waterloo Station
144a Edmonton Green - Muswell Hill
259 Edmonton Green - Kings Cross Station
279 Waltham Cross - Holloway
318 North Mid - Stamford Hill - North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust
444 Turnpike Lane - Chingford Station
456 Enfield Town via Winchmore Hill, to North Mid.
491 North Middlesex University Hospital - Waltham cross
N279 Waltham Cross - Victoria Station stop at the junction of fore street and Angel Road
W6 bus travelling from Southgate - Palmers Green - Edmonton Green
8. How many of the passengers in Question 7 use the Freedom Pass.
9. Is it planned that all stations will have step free access?
Clarification received 28/03/2024: "Near to" = 1 kilometer radius please regarding distance. Q3 timeframe is last 12 months.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-4719-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 20th March 2024 – as subsequently clarified - asking for information about step free access at TfL stations.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. Your questions are answered in turn below:
Question 1. How do you prioritise installing step-free access in stations that currently don't have this? i.e. what data you use to inform this, public consultations, passenger forums etc.
Answer: The principle factors we consider are deliverability, benefits, and available funding. This is done through active engagement with independent experts and stakeholder organisations such as our Independent Disability Advisory Group, our partnership with Bild and People First, and our Inclusive Transport Forum which is made up of pan-London and national accessibility groups and advocates. As with all projects which are likely to have a direct impact on customers we draft Equality Impact Assessments which are reviewed by specially trained reviewers within Transport for London. In 2022 TfL undertook a Step Free Access consultation exercise – see the consultation report attached. The consultation had 5583 responses of which 31 were stakeholder organisations. As a result of this consultation, we have created a prioritisation matrix to assess benefits. This matrix considers the potential reduction in step-free access journey time, the potential volume of customers at a station, access to interchanges, and location to tourist attractions, hospitals, town centres, and other step-free access stations. Note further that our approach to the prioritisation of future stations on the London Underground is described on page 30 of our recent publication “Equity in Motion” - copy of which can be found here: https://content.tfl.gov.uk/equity-in-motion-full.pdf
The prioritisation process and data sources we have used previously for other rail modes (including the London Overground and the Elizabeth line) is summarised in the attached document “220224 tfl access for all ranking methodology note CP7.pdf”. In the future we intend to align our processes for these modes to London Underground’s approach as set out in “Equity in Motion”.
Question 2. How many step-free access stations are situated near NHS hospitals in London? Clarified as follows: 1 kilometer radius please regarding distance. Answer: TfL does not hold the exact information requested (i.e. a list of step free access stations and distance from NHS hospitals), and note that there is no obligation to create new information in response to a Freedom of Information request. However, that said, we have published an up-to-date written and visual map of the step-free network which lists all step-free stations – available here: https://content.tfl.gov.uk/step-free-tube-guide-map.pdf You can use the information provided to identify the location of step free access stations in relation to NHS hospitals. The attached list of step-free London Underground stations may also be of use (you may need to expand the width of some columns to read the data in full). Question 3. How many passengers have requested access to use the ramp for wheelchair access to enable on and/or offboarding at step free access stations on the London Overground service between Liverpool Street and Enfield Town/Cheshunt? Clarified as follows: Last 12 months. Answer: We do not hold information specifically isolated to wheelchair ramp usage on the London Overground. The numbers below reflect Turn Up And Go (TUAG – see here for more information: https://tfl.gov.uk/transport-accessibility/help-from-staff#on-this-page-1) and Pre-Booking which includes the requested information. Turn Up And Go (TUAG): 486 Pre-booked: 3 Question 4. How many more stations are you planning to work on with step free access over the next few years? And how were they selected? And which ones? Answer: This information can be found on our website here: https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/step-free-access?intcmp=1954
Question 5. How many passengers use the following (tap in out out with oyster/card):
Silver Street station Seven Sisters station White Hart Lane station Edmonton Green
over the past year? And on average how many on a daily and weekly basis? If you can share full/detailed statistics on this that would be great
And;
Question 6. How many of those passengers in Question 5 use the Freedom Pass?
Answer: Please see the table below. This provides data for the 52 weeks from 02/04/2023 to 30/03/2024. Daily averages can be calculated by dividing the annual totals by 364 (although note that weekdays and weekends are likely to have different profiles in reality):
Annual totals
Weekly Average
Freedom Pass
Freedom Pass
Contactless
All Oyster
Disabled
Senior
Contactless
All Oyster
Disabled
Senior
Silver Street
Entries
253,768
224,619
8,253
28,194
4,880
4,320
159
542
Exits
227,154
201,931
6,405
26,297
4,368
3,883
123
506
Seven Sisters
Entries
1,713,921
1,595,771
68,866
209,459
32,960
30,688
1,324
4,028
Exits
1,683,919
1,595,595
66,788
244,436
32,383
30,685
1,284
4,701
White Hart Lane
Entries
309,042
255,243
10,740
30,661
5,943
4,909
207
590
Exits
332,719
252,168
10,023
32,186
6,398
4,849
193
619
Edmonton Green
Entries
382,454
465,631
18,733
68,813
7,355
8,954
360
1,323
Exits
370,775
465,183
20,032
86,668
7,130
8,946
385
1,667
7. How many passengers board/tap oyster or card for the bus to North Middlesex University Hospital using the tfl bus routes (again detailed stats as per question 5):
34 Barnet - Walthamstow Central station - Barnet 102 Edmonton Green - Golders Green 149 Ponders End to Waterloo Station 144a Edmonton Green - Muswell Hill 259 Edmonton Green - Kings Cross Station 279 Waltham Cross - Holloway 318 North Mid - Stamford Hill - North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 444 Turnpike Lane - Chingford Station 456 Enfield Town via Winchmore Hill, to North Mid. 491 North Middlesex University Hospital - Waltham cross N279 Waltham Cross - Victoria Station stop at the junction of fore street and Angel Road W6 bus travelling from Southgate - Palmers Green - Edmonton Green
And;
Question 8. How many of the passengers in Question 7 use the Freedom Pass.
Answer: Please see the attached spreadsheet “FOI-4719-2324 Bus data”. For Question 7, the alighting data consists of the annual totals for the calendar year 2023 in column G but totals for an average day and week are also provided in columns E and F respectively. For Question 8, column H contains the proportion of alighters that use the Freedom Pass. Since the average day and week figures are obtained from the annual total, the proportions are assumed to be the same at a given route and stop for daily, weekly and annual data. As the questions did not specify the bus stops for the hospital we have used the stops with the point letters on the North Middlesex Hospital spider map (available here) as well as the nearest stops on the other routes not on the map. Please be aware that the destination of the alighters cannot be inferred and it cannot be assumed that the alighting data is solely for the hospital itself, as it is likely that some of these may be for other purposes.
Question 9. Is it planned that all stations will have step free access?
Answer: We intend to continue to improve our step-free access across our network while ensuring that our limited funding is used most effectively. Parts of the TfL network are over 160 years old and may present significant archaeological, construction, and cost challenges. The Mayor’s Transport Strategy (on page 147 – see here: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/mayors-transport-strategy-2018.pdf) says: “The Mayor’s longer-term aim is for the majority of the Tube network to be step-free, recognising that some locations will be very difficult to retrospectively make step-free because of the age and layout of the original station”.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please 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
