Get Moving 48: Transport for All Non-MembersNEWSLETTER

Dear Supporter,

Hello and welcome to this November newsletter. This month, we look at:

  • our Get Your MP on Board campaign: already 5 MPs have joined us.
  • our protest against the rise of lift closures due to “shortage of staff”.
  • our Disability Equality Training for Uber Partner-drivers.

September and October have been two busy months for us. Here are some of the highlights:

  • TfA members have taken their local MP out on a journey on public transport.
  • On the 21st of September, we held our Pan London Mobility Forum. During this event we asked members what accessible transport demands should we be making of the next Mayor? The discussion informed our Mayoral Manifesto for accessible transport.
  • On the same day we went to Oakwood station to protest against the increasing number of lift 'out of office, due to staff shortage' (see our article below).

ARTICLES:

ARTICLE 1: Get your MP on board

For the past three months, Transport for All (TfA) activists have been showing their MPs the reality of travelling around London when you’re a disabled or older person, by taking them on a trip. Chuka Umunna was the latest MP who undertook this journey.

In April 2015, as part of TfA’s seven election demands for accessible transport, we were calling on all candidates to commit to making a journey with a disabled or older person – or better still, a group – to see first-hand the barriers that we encounter every day. Some made this commitment to their constituents at the various husting events we organised.

“An eye-opener for the MP”

TfA trustee, Alan Benson was the first to take his MP Zac Goldsmith on an excursion. He says: “It was an eventful trip. I spent two and a half hours with him on trains and buses. There was a buggy on the bus which brought the debate up. We were put in the wrong carriage at Queen’s Park. It was an eye-opener for the MP who mentioned it on LBC. “

Four other MPs – Stephen Timms (Newham), Dawn Butler (Brent Central), Mike Gapes (Redbridge), and Chuka Umunna (Streatham) – have also joined TfA members and Transport Action Groups to test the accessibility of London transport network. We took Dawn Butler with Brent members on a trip to the Parliament. Working with Brent Pensioners and Brent Mencap, we travelled on a bus from Brent Civic Centre, and then a group of fifteen members boarded the Jubilee Line at Wembley Park to Westminster. At Westminster station, a temporary lift was in place due to maintenance work but the route was badly signed. We were glad that Ms Butler has taken up this issue with TfL and the signage has been promptly improved. At Parliament, member Jeff Harvey chaired a roundtable where members raised the transport access issues that affect us. Ms Butler also asked the Secretary of State of Transport about his plans to expand Turn Up and Go rail assistance.

A week after, Mike Gapes MP travelled by bus with Redbridge TAG members June Kelsey and Abdul Jamil for his first day back at the House of Commons. Abdul, a scooter user, chose to take Mr Gapes to a nearby bus stop where bus ramps frequently fail to work. Mr Gapes has written to Redbridge Council asking them about making bus stops accessible and has also pledged to write to the Minister asking them to make Turn Up And Go assistance a condition of future franchises.

Newham Transport Action Group (TAG) campaigners Sam and Ron Candy and Shani went out on the bus and Tube with MP Stephen Timms.“The day was a success; the MP has asked questions in the House about accessible transport”, according to Ron. Despite the fact that there is meant to be level access onto the train at West Ham, the gap was too big and staff needed to help push Shani’s wheelchair onto the train. Following this meeting, Stephen Timms has taken up our issues by writing to the Rail Minister Claire Perry, asking her to make Turn-Up-and-Go a condition of the award of franchises for South Eastern railways and South Western railways.

The latest MP who made it was Lambeth MP Chuka Umunna, who joined his constituent Faye Lightbourne on her first bus journey for ten years in Streatham. Conflict arose when a parent with a buggy, considerately and without fuss, got off the bus to make room for Faye in the wheelchair bay, and another passenger stared abusing Faye.

Faye said: “It was very frightening when this woman starting shouting at me and I felt terrible, I just wanted to get off but I couldn’t.

“It wasn’t the mum who was horrible, she was really sympathetic and understanding. It was another woman on the bus, who said I should be ashamed of myself for making the buggy move out of the way.”

Chuka Umunna has promised to take up with TfL the urgent need for more spacious buses to help avoid this conflict.

How to get your MP on board

If you are thinking of taking part, do get in touch. Tell us who your MP is and we will help you to organise this journey. We can link you up with others in your constituency. It’s a powerful way to show them the impact that inaccessible transport has on our lives. “If your MP has not been on a trip, encourage them to do so. Get in touch with TfA and they will help you” concluded Alan Benson.

Article2: Protest against the rise of lift closures due to “shortage of staff”

On the 21st September, TfA members gathered together outside Oakwood Tube station to protest over the lack of lifts at London Underground stations. This station has been one of the worst hit stations, with 13 lift closures in July and August alone – that’s once every four days, on average. The stations with the most incidents of lift closures in 2014 were Wood Lane (16), Southfields (14), Oakwood (14), Hendon Central (10), West Brompton (8) and Golders Green (8).

With the support of local Assembly Member Joanne McCartney, we gathered to challenge the surge in lift closures due to staff shortage. As Assembly Members Caroline Pidgeon uncovered, hours of lift closure due to staff shortage this year rocketed by more than 50% on 2013’s figures. Occasions when lifts have been closed due to staff shortage have more than doubled since 2012.

Pat Hansberry, London Underground’s operations director, claimed that the closures at Oakwood were due to recent industrial action, but did not respond to the rise in lift closures due to staff shortage over the last four years.

Millions have been invested in making these stations accessible.Less than one in four Tube stations have stepfree access and on any given day, some of these are closed due to maintenance works and breakages. When, on top of that, avoidable staff shortages shut lifts, it stops disabled and older people being able to get to work, education, and to see friends and family.

What we want

Disabled and older people have three demands to TfL:

  • Stop lifts being closed due to station shortage
  • Publish data on hours of lift closures annually, so this information is available without having to chase through FOIs
  • Publish the taxi policy on the ‘lift out of order’ sign at stations and on the TfL station status website section that shows which lifts are out of service.

Unfortunately, few disabled and older people know that they could be entitled to a taxi when a lift is out of service. According to TfL: “If you arrive at a Tube, TfL Rail or Overground station and the lift is unavailable, staff will help you to plan an alternative journey to your destination. If there isn’t a reasonable alternative route, we’ll book you a taxi (at our cost) to take you to your destination or another step-free station from where you can continue your journey.”

Next week, TfA will meet Mark Evers, director of Customer Service at Transport for London, together with Assembly Members Val Shawcross and Caroline Pidgeon, and ask what TfL plans to do to tackle the rising hours of lift closures die to staff shortage.

TfL staff have told us that lifts are closed when there aren’t enough staff trained to deal with lift operation in the case of a fire.

We believe that there is no justification for stopping disabled people being able to access a station because of the risk of fire. Every day, in buildings across the land, disabled people use lifts despite there being no staff with this particular fire training. Furthermore, the risk of a disabled person needing to use the lift at the same time as a fire is so low as to be negligible.

For many disabled and older people, working lifts are essential for everyday travel as they are the only way of accessing Tube stations without using steps

Article3: Disability Equality Training for Uber Partner-drivers

Uber launches a new service called UberASSIST after initiating a programme of Disability Equality Training (DET).

Transport for All and our partner organisation Inclusion London (IL) were engaged by Uber to deliver bespoke face to face DET to partner-drivers who will be operating on the UberASSIST platform. UberASSIST is a new service that offers disabled and older passengers the option of getting a driver trained in providing assistance to disabled passengers. This training will equip them to better serve disabled passengers with different impairments. As with all of our other DET programmes it was designed and delivered by disabled people and grounded in the social model of disability.

How to book UberASSIST

To book an UberASSIST trip, riders have to download the app and create an account. They then need to enter in the code ‘ASSISTUK’ into the promotions screen to use the service. This service will be at the same price as regular Uber trips.

At the same time Uber have also indicated that next year they will be launching wheelchair accessible vehicles on their platform. Currently, very few vehicles available on the Uber platform are wheelchair accessible so these new proposals are very welcome.

The launch of UberASSIST is a positive initiative. TfA has lobbied for many years for DET for all transport staff including in London’s Taxi and PHV sector. We were therefore delighted when Transport for London (TfL) proposed making DET a condition of licensing for all PHV drivers. We know that it will make a real difference to the customer service given to disabled passengers. Both TfA and IL would very much welcome the opportunity to work with the sector to upskill drivers in their knowledge and understanding of how to assist disabled passengers – and we hope all taxi and PHV operators will make similar investments in training.