access london in 2024 and earlier

June 1, 2022 Kevan

Elizabeth line, British museum and the Serpentine

It is the 1st of June 2022, and the Elizabeth line opened less than a couple of weeks ago. I am still testing the best way to use the new train line and offer advice on accessible routes. I have a hidden disability where I can only walk or climb to my limit. Lets test that limit.

Today, I took my wife on a tour of London, via the brand new Elizabeth line. It started as usual at Upminster, on the c2c. Upminster has lifts to the platforms, and a side entrance, and being a main line rail station, it has toilets, and also on the train.

We travelled to Barking, where it is very easy to cross a platform to alight the district line towards Whitechapel, and London. The district line is very slow. At Whitechapel, a lift, or stairs, brings you to street level. A reasonable walk into the brand new Elizabeth line station arrives at the Elizabeth line.

I think it is about 18 minutes from Whitechapel to Paddington. So fast!

At Paddington are toilets, a rare thing to find in London, except at main line rail stations. The Elizabeth line has zero of these, either on the trains or the new stations. It was clearly too much to ask for a few toilets, or maybe they were cut as the budget ran out of control.

After a quick stop, we headed back towards Tottenham court road station. Here, this is a large station, lots of escalators and lifts up to street level. You can also catch the Central and Northern lines at this station. In New Oxford street, we headed for the famous Umbrella shop, turned left up Bloomsbury street, and then right into Great Russell street for the British museum. I had booked tickets, but no checking now appears to take place, just a bag search. The museum was very busy, and absolutely brilliant, and a good cafeteria area exists at the rear of the ground floor. There is also a shop, and toilets, including an disabled toilet and wash room.

Near to the front exit are two small lifts which reach the various floors. These became busy during the stop here, often with lazy tourists avoiding the stairs tp the detriment of those who needed these lifts.

Each one of the amazing displays show priceless objects, my favourites being in Roman Britain, and a number of hoards found in the last century.

We left the museum after about 90 minutes. I can visit it anytime, as I often do, and headed off for Lancaster Gate, and the Albert Gardens. We took two buses two get there, to avoid stairs on the TFL station., via the 98 bus to Oxford street / John Lewis; and then the 94 bus to Lancaster Gate. I recommend the TFLGO app on your phone if you are not using this.

By Lancaster Gate station is an amazing fountain which was originally built by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria in about 1860. The entirety was rebuilt in 2011, and is one of the most beautiful spots in London, particularly in the sunshine. It sits at the northern end of Hyde Park.

I am not actually known for stamina, but after a short stop here, we walked southwards along the Serpentine, and down through Hyde Park. I had previously walked this in the opposite direction. There are a good number of park benches along the route, and we also passed the Princess of Wales Fountain and the Peter Pan statue.

The southern end of the park finds Park lane.

May 24, 2022 Kevan

Elizabeth Line, the first day, Abbey Wood to Paddington.

It is Tuesday, 24th May 2022, and the first day of the Elizabeth line being open through central London. And as luck would have it, I had an important meeting in Chelsea late in the afternoon. I struggle with stairs, and also walking distances, for health reasons, and I share some of my important findings for others with similar invisible disabilities.

Also, I had already worked part of the route for initial access to the Elizabeth line. I had visited Canary Wharf recently, and found the distance between the DLR and Jubilee stations and this brand new station a factor. Further investigation suggested that the DLR station at Custom House for Excel was a great station to swap lines.

So, my day started at Upminster Station, at 11.31 am, travelling via the c2c to Limehouse (at the front of the train), where a few short steps gets you onto the DLR. A DLR train towards Beckton is a short ride to Custom House. Here, a short walk, including lifts, joins the Elizabeth Line. I caught the 12.15 train towards Abbey Wood.

I was in carriage 8 of 9 on the train, near the back. I found out I needed to walk the entire distance of the train to access the station, which was at the front of the train, including a couple of lifts. Not so well planned. There were lots of excited people waiting to take the trip for the first time. I know people who were on the first ever train, this will be good enough for me.

I left Abbey Wood at 12.41 on the beautiful Elizabeth line. It is absolutely brilliant. Less than 30 minutes later I arrived at Paddington. I was very impressed with this new station. There were two escalators out of the station level, and another up to the main Paddington Station Rail station. This involved minimal walking. The Rail station had toilets and advertised toilets on the same level on platform 12. I later discovered the circle line also feeds into this main Station. All very good.

I still had several hours to fill, and chose to next visit the brand new Liverpool street station, which I call Moorgate. I reversed my tracks down to the Elizabeth line, and travelled back via (Bond street closed), Tottenham court road, Finsbury and then Liverpool street.

On exiting the train here, you have two exit options, and I happened to be at about the middle of the train, so both were equidistant to the escalators. I later discovered that the lifts appear to be at the ends of the station, both next or following the line of the escalators. I quickly learnt that using the lifts always placed you at an end of the train. I tend to use escalators as there are never enough lifts for those who actually need them.

I did similar for Finsbury station on the Elizabeth line, which appears to be a more compact station. I exited via the escalators to the Broadgate exit, which is by the Smithfield Meat market (which is where the London museum is moving to). And then onto Tottenham court road, and I know this station as being a huge network of tunnels, and very accessible with long walks. I decided it was here I would head for the central line, and used the lifts to my advantage, but NOT down to the Northern line.

Off track for a moment, I took the central line to Bond street, the jubilee line to Green Park. At Green Park, always use the escalators, as the lifts are accessible but involve walking huge distances. The last section of exiting Green Park to street level and the buses has a lift worth taking, but this was out of order. A walk into the park, and up the slope in the rain was my only option, to the buses, a quick ride on the 14 bus towards Putney Heath brings you to the Royal Brompton.

The staff (all of them at the Brompton are amazing), from the guy at the door who makes sure you should be there, and then makes sure you know where you are going, and that you are OK, to the amazing health team, technicians, doctors etc. All brilliant.

Back to the bus, on the way home twenty minutes later. I take the 14 bus to South Kensington, where it is discovered that the District and much of the Circle lane are badly broken. In desperation you manage to find a train, via the Circle lane, towards Paddington!

At Paddington, the circle line is a fairly easy walk up into the main Rail station, and hey presto, the Elizabeth line now runs from here. A short ride on the Elizabeth line train gets you back to Canary Wharf. It is not actually that far to walk from here to the Jubilee station, but I found it quite a distance. The usual Jubilee train to West Ham, again only a short walk to the c2c trains, via a lift up to the station was OK, but I made it. And back to Upminster, and home from there.

I walked about 8,500 steps today which is pretty remarkable for me. I loved the Elizabeth line, I think I will be using it again in a couple of days, and then some ….

Thanks.

On Thursday, I decided to try a slightly different route. From Upminster I took the c2c towards London, and changed at West Ham, to change onto the district line. It requires a short walk, and a couple of lifts, or stairs. If I had changed at Barking, it would have been a short walk across the platform, and a few more minutes on the District line.

The District line continues and goes via Whitechapel, and this is a brand new station and amazing, with lifts everywhere. Whitechapel incorporates the Elizabeth line, and the District line. There is some walking necessary, but it is all on a level, except the lifts, escalators or stairs.

I had an interesting conversation with one of the staff on the main Elizabeth line platform as to why TFL recommended that those in wheelchairs should always head for the centre carriages of a train, probably carriage 5, as the lifts were always at the ends of the platforms. He agreed with me about the lifts, but also pointed out that some stations outside this section of the Elizabeth line were better served when those in wheelchairs were in these central carriages, particularly Abbey Wood, and some of those heading for Reading, and or Heathrow.

Incidentally, Whitechapel and Abbey road only have one lift at the station end, Most stations appear to have lifts at both ends.

I joined the Elizabeth line train towards Paddington. The total journey time from leaving Upminster was just short of one hour. Wow.

I then chose to enter Paddington, and find the train towards Heathrow, another Elizabeth line train. I do not know how regularly they run, but the journey took about 30 minutes. I then returned home, in a reversal of the journey to Heathrow. That’s it, really.

As I struggle with walking, I would recommend changing at Barking to join the District line except if the district line is problematical, I would recommend the change at Custom House, where the DLR and the Elizabeth line are very close to each other.

I don’t recommend using Canary Wharf as a station to change lines as they are very distant from each other. Unless you are a normal, and fit person, then it is your choice.

Actually, my preferences change all the time, as I find new information, and I visited the Elizabeth Line today for the fourth time in less than two weeks.

I was on my usual trip to a brilliant hospital in Brompton, and had lost of time to kill on the way. It so happened that the district and circle lines were severe for most of the day, mainly signalling problems, but this was a side issue to choice of routes to take.

I have been looking at maps for Poplar station, as when you enter the station in real life, you can see Canary wharf Elizabeth line station, and I can confirm this is the case. The google maps are already getting out of date in regards to the new stations, so don’t trust them. Anyway, I decided I would try visiting Canary wharf DLR station and find the best way to the Elizabeth line station. It is not simple if you don’t know the station/s. It is obvious if you do.

I travelled from Upminster on the c2c line from Upminster, towards Fenchurch street, and changed at the stop before at Limehouse. A very short hop takes you from the front of the c2c train onto the DLR, and two stations onwards, making sure you get the Lewisham line brings you to Canary wharf.

If you know what the stations look like, it is clear that you need to exit the DLR station and then turn left. Simple as that. The various stations are on different levels, and there are ample lifts or escalators. The walk took me about ten minutes, walking quite slowly.

The Elizabeth line station is amazing. The whole line from Abbey Wood to Paddington is brilliant, very fast and well served by lifts and escalators at all stations. All stations have multiple entry and exit points, and these are misleading at first, but there are lots of maps dotted around everywhere, take your time to acquaint yourself.

I chose to exit at Farringdon for no particular reason. It is a fully accessible station. After a short break I chose to enter the old Farringdon station to get a circle line train to Kensington, I think. This was a mistake as I found out later, as I found myself on the Hammersmith & City line. I escaped at Kings Cross which shows itself as am accessible station. Ouch.

Kings Cross is a very large station. I walked for miles to get back onto the Piccadilly line, and then onwards to Green Park. This is a good station if you remember to use the escalators, if you can. The lifts are huge distances to walk. Excepting the last lift out o the station up to street level.

There are multiple buses at Green Park, heading towards Fulham broadway which take me to Chelsea / Brompton; and after a brilliant stop at the N=Brompton hospital I headed home again.

Stupidly, at the correct bus stop, I chose an 11 bus which goes via Westminster, This was very slow, and when it drops you at Westminster, the signage is non-existent. I stupidly entered a tunnel to get to the fully accessible station, which is down some steps and up another bunch of steps. Silly me. The station is brilliant if you know where it is!

The last part of the trip home was via the noisy, and now old Jubilee line to West Ham, and a walk to the c2C where you have to ensure you get the correct train back to Upminster.

I document some of this on my accessible train station guide, but I am one person amongst the millions in London, plus tourists; and if I struggle with the London train system, I have no idea how others cope with similar levels of accessibility problems.

March 27, 2022 Kevan

DLR line, Limehouse, Elizabeth line and accessible London

I travel into London from Upminster, on the c2c, and often end up in Fenchurch street, from where I will take a bus across London. The front entrance of Fenchurch street station has lifts, escalators and a toilet. All are very good, and very accessible.

Upminster station, on the c2c, has lifts, ramps for those in wheelchairs onto the train, and toilets. All good. You can also get the district line from here, and the closest accessible station on the district line is at Elm Park.

The c2c line travels via Barking, West Ham, and Limehouse. West Ham, and Limehouse stations have lifts or step free routes onto the DLR, most of which is highly accessible. Avoid Bank station, it is currently a death trap for those with accessible issues. I also tend to avoid Barking, as there are some accessible routes here via long walks, and ramps etc.

Limehouse is an interesting station. It has access to the DLR and also the c2c line. TFL appear to be upgrading the station, and a lift is being installed. It is also an excellent station for gaining access to the new Crossrail (Elizabeth line) which starts eventually on 24th May 2022. How?

Well, I have it on good authority that the first section of the Crossrail runs from Abbey Wood, via Canary Wharf, Farringdon, Tottenham court road to Paddington. (I have been told that Bond street is not yet open). I also believe the section from Brentwood (Shenfield) stops at Liverpool street. I don’t think anyone really knows which parts are opening.

At Limehouse, I can exit the c2c at Limehouse. You will need to get off this train by ramp if you are in a wheelchair or similar. You can access the DLR platforms by crossing through the barriers at the London end of the train, down a very short ramp to the DLR platform. To get from Limehouse to Canary wharf on the DLR is just two stops (heading towards Lewisham), and then exit the DLR to one of the highly accessible Crossrail trains towards Paddington (or Abbey Wood).

Actually, it is a bit more walking than that, as I found out the other day. I have visited Canary wharf, which appears very accessible, although I only found the escalators. The DLR is on one of the higher floors, and you just need to travel to get to the lower levels, and walk through the very tasteful shopping centre. At Canary wharf are all three accessible lines, the DLR, Jubilee and the new Elizabeth line will also open very soon.

Canary wharf mapping from in front of the Elizabeth line showing the DLR and Jubilee stations in May 2022

I had another go at accessing the new Elizabeth line today. I thought I would try via Shadwell, and then into Whitechapel. It looks the obvious choice from looking at maps.

I arrived this morning at Limehouse, and headed towards the DLR. It appeared the lift was not working, and I ended up catching the DLR in the opposite direction towards Woolwich, and Beckton. I swapped lines at Canning Town to Beckton, and headed for the Custom House Excel station.

I was very impressed with Custom House which is another of the Elizabeth Line stations which is about to open. It is all in one place, the entrance to the Excel centre, the DLR line, and the Elizabeth Line station. And very accessible, in every way imaginable.

If you are totally accessible needy (in a wheelchair), it maybe worth taking this diversion to get the level of accessible access which has clearly been thought through.

[I will add some pictures later]

I next headed back from Custom House towards Tower Gateway, and Shadwell. Shadwell is on the DLR and also the London Overground routes. It is only one stop away from Whitechapel, and the Elizabeth Line station, but I have to say it needs a major redevelop.

I took the lift down to the London Overground route, and then had to walk more stairs down to the London Overground route, towards Whitechapel Elizabeth Line station. Shadwell is OK if you are OK with walking, and climbing a few stairs.

There is also a lot of useful info on Ianvisits site. I think my detail is also pretty good.

If you are travelling on the c2c towards London, and exit at Limehouse, you need to either exit via the stairs or enter the DLR station on the same level, and exit via a small lift, to Commercial road.

If you take a walk around the station at Limehouse, it is very clearly stated that there are cameras watching you. At Commercial road, whilst standing there once, i was visited by a youth on a cycle, asking me whether I was waiting for a specific? Drugs ?

If you do exit the station here, a short walk away from London on the Commercial road, brings you to steps leading down to the Regents canal, and Limehouse dock. It is not an easy trip on a wheelchair, but there may be a route somewhere.

March 27, 2022 Kevan

Accessible stations and travel in TFL London

My name is Kevan Wilding, and I like visiting London as often as possible. I am a London resident and travel free on their service most of the time, and I have been building a site about which stations are most accessible, and therefore which stations I would want to use, and the easiest routes to use.

I should point out that I am not in a wheelchair, but I do struggle with stairs, walking generally, and sometimes just getting dressed. Therefore most routes I use in London tend to avoid stairs, are generally accessible, and I do have a number of photographs of the barriers you are likely to come across. I can walk, albeit quite slowly, and am at present building my strength using a simple and cheap rowing machine which is great for getting the lungs working, I row maybe a kilometre to warm up before going out for a walk.

I also use buses a lot, as you can see where you are visiting, and also they do not require walking down and up masses of stairs, they are all on the surface, and the London bus network is pretty good once you find where all the bus stops are not closed due to roadworks in London!

Anyway, I have already visited many stations in London previously, and this information is already on my Londonwiki site, and this is to build on this top highlight some of the better stations, routes and TFL lines which are generally more accessible to people like me. I also mention toilets when I can find them, as I struggle with this too.

I am very slowly now, building a site which lists all of the London stations, and which to use, and which to definitely avoid. I have severe copd, and I am rowing my way to a better life, along with these walks, although they seem to be a lot less regular sometimes. When it is warm, and wearing a mask to avoid covid, take regular exercise. I get seriously out of breath just changing my underpants in the morning, but on a good day, I can also walk five miles. Don’t give up, trust me on this.

Enjoy, Kevan.

February 15, 2022 Kevan

Sainsbury parking and accessibility

This is probably not an issue at all Sainsbury stores, as I am sure they are keen to welcome those with accessibility issues to spend their money in their stores.

I know, we are a dieing breed, the good old disabled community who just want a reasonable deal whilst spending our money.

The new Sainsbury mentality appears to be to get a parking company to manage their car parks without any care about who or whom they may upset. That’s it really, Sainsbury are becoming totally devoid of any compassion or empathy towards their customer base.

If this is the case, I might as well go to Tesco, or Lidl or the other cheap companies, as Sainsbury have lost the plot and don’t want the old farts visiting their stores,

Well, I drove into a Sainsbury car park today. They had also removed the bottle bank facility, although they supply most of my bottles, of which there are many. I then decided I would rather drive to the local Tesco store which not only offered me 3 hours of free parking, cheap petrol, and recycling. My choice, and I spent my money at the Tesco store.

October 19, 2021 Kevan

Central London bus routes & accessibility.

Every bus in London is accessible and has space for one wheelchair. The buses are built to make it easy for people to get on and off, if they are in a wheelchair. The service is amazing, until someone starts to close the bus stops, because they are an idiot.

I now visit London on a tregular basis whilst my health continues to deteriorate, and I can no longer use the Underground for most trips due to being too stressful.

The good news is that most of my trips are during the day and outside rush hour- what’s rush hour? The bad news is that I enter London via Fenchurch street most days, and there are no easy options for accessible travel onwards into London, especially as TFL like to close random bus stops as they see fit.

Fenchurch street station on the c2c line from Southend (now a city – God less you David Amess), is a very good service, almost excellent. All c2c trains require a ramp to access for disabled travel in a wheelchair, but the service appears to happen. I use it because it is less boring than sitting on a district line train for hours. The train and stations also have toilets, one of my needs. Wow, what is there not to like.

There are two main ways to exit Fenchurch street, via the stairs, or the front entrance. I did count the stairs the other day, either 52 or more likely 62. Both are bad. This is the exit which leads directly towards Tower Hill station.

To exit Fenchurch street via the front exit, it is a flat platform to the elevators / stairs or lift to street level. Sometimes the elevators are working, mostly not. But the lift always appears to be in working order. To get to Tower Hill station, you then need to exit the station and turn right and right again along Fenchurch street. Then down Lloyds avenue towards Tower Hill. By the time you have done all of this, it maybe as quick to walk along Fenchurch street to Aldgate and get a bus. It depends where you are going.

From Aldgate (bus stop), there are three excellent services I have been trying, the 15, 25 and 100. The latter travels via Liverpool street, along the London Wall to the Museum of London.

The 25 travels along Leadenhall street where most stops are closed, via Bank, St Pauls, to City Thames LInk.

The 15 bus travels from Blackwall, via Aldgate, Tower Hill, Ludgate circus, St Pauls, Strand, Charing Cross, which is close to Trafalgar square.

All buses have their slow moments, at different times of the day. Your choice of travel.

Today, I visited Fenchurch street as usual, took the long walk to Tower Hill station where there are lifts to access platforms, and then completed the travel by district line to Westnmister station. Westminster has lots of very nice lifts to exit the station from both the district and jubilee lines, but the bus stops outside the station have the same usual problems, many are closed. I have to say that whoever it is in TFL who manages bus stops, they clearly do not ever travel in a wheelchair, or have limited accessibility, because the level of service is absolutely appalling.

Now I have found a safe and accessible route to Charing Cross and Trafalgar square, and along with trying to visit the many London Theatres, I have discovered a number of bus routes from here which are incredibly useful (when the bus stops are working).

There is the 24 which leads towards Pimlico from Trafalgar square, and is via Westminster, St James park, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral. Victoria station. In the opposite direction after Trafalgar square, it heads up towards Hampstead Heath via Leiceter square, I think.

October 18, 2021 Kevan

Victoria London Theatres accessibility 2021

There are two definite major theatres in Victoria, both are close to Victoria station, and well served by bus routes. The number 24 is a good choice, travelling from Pimlico to Hampstead Heath, it travels via Victoria, Westminster, Charing Cross, Leicester square, etc. As you can see, there are 3800+ seats at these two theatres alone.

I visited on a Monday, and did not enter the theares asking about their accessibility.

Apollo Victoria Theatre – Wicked

Apollo Victoria, 17 Wilton Road, London, SW1V - in October 2021 — Apollo Victoria, 17 Wilton Road, London, SW1V – in October 2021

17 Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1LG (2384)

The Apollo Victoria is an art deco theatre. which originally opened as a cinema in 1930, within two major roads. Wicked has been cast for the past thirteen years, and recently welcoming its 10 millionth visitor. Watch some delightful backstage tasters to put you in the mood to want to visit.
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible

If travelling from Charing Cross, travel via Westminster, St James Park, Westminster Abbey, and exit the 24 bus after Westmnster Cathedral, which is close to Victoria station. The 24 bus returns from Wilton road.

Victoria Palace Theatre – Hamilton

Victoria Palace, Victoria Street, London, SW1E in October 2021

Victoria Street, London, SW1E 5EA (1517)

Hamilton has been running since 2017, with the obvious breaks. The Theatre was built in 1910 to replace the Royal Standard Music Hall. In 1978 Annie ran for 4,344 performances. In 1989 Buddy ran until 1995. In 2005 Billy Elliott ran until 2016, about the time I watched the show, absolutely brilliant.
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible

Email their access team for wheelchair access information

If travelling from Charing Cross, travel via Westminster, St James Park, Westnibster Abbey, exit the 24 bus after Westmnster Cathedral, which is close to Victoria station To return to Charing Cross get the 24 bus from Wilton road, back towards Hampstead Heath, and via Leicester square station.

October 17, 2021 Kevan

Queens Theatre, Billet lane, Hornchurch RM11

The Queens Theatre in Hornchurch was an old building in Station road when I first moved to Hornchurch. A couple of years later, a brand new theatre was planned and built between North street and Billet lane Hornchurch.

Moving on, I worked in the bar in about 1979 for a brief period. There were some awesome stage shows about this time, including Tommy by the Who. This went to the West End. And much more.

In 1987, I moved back to Hornchurch and have lived here ever since. It is the cheapest part of London to live, for absolutey no reason. Transport links are awesome, including the M25, two Rail lines to London, the underground line, and the only downside is we are close to Romford.

The Queens Theatre is a 1970s built building, with additional adaptations to make it disability aware. The downstairs bar area is also accessible via a lift, as are the toilets. Brilliant.

Today, in 2021, the theatre is coming back to life after covid, and will be the centre of the Passion play put on by Churches in Hornchurch, for the fifth creation.

October 17, 2021 Kevan

Nine More West End theatres to visit, 2021.

I have about 55 theatres in the West End of London which I have been visiting and photographing over the past week or so. I am not doing bad, and here are the last nine theatres I have yet to get to. I will move these onto the relevant pages as I find the detail.

I will also be adding a few other Theatres, in particular my local Theatre, the Queens Theatre, in Hornchurch. I have reason for this, and it is linked to Passion Play 2020 which will now take place in 2022, at Easter. More on this to come, but either myself, or a member of my family, or all of us, have been involved in performances of the Passion Play Hornchurch since 1995, and it is amazing, and it is all free.

These nine theatres are all on the map on the main Theatres page, but I will not link to them here. They are, as follows:

Barbican – Anything Goes

Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS
Barbican Theatre (1156) Barbican Hall (1943) The Pit (200)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible

Donmar Warehouse

Donmar Warehouse, London, WC2h 9LX (251)
Facilities: wheelchair accessible, with three wheelchair spaces in the auditorium

London County Hall

Belvedere Road, London, SE1 7PB
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Wheelchair accessible

London Palladium

8 Argyll Street, London, W1F 7TF (2286)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible

Peacock Theatre – Message in a Bottle (ends in October)

Portugal Street, London, WC2A 2HT (1000)
Facilities: Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible

Piccadilly Theatre – Moulin Rouge

16 Denman Street, London, W1D 7DY (1200)
Facilities: Infrared hearing loop, Very Wheelchair accessible, see my visit to the moulin rouge which was amazing

Playhouse Theatre – at the Kit Kat Club.

Northumberland Avenue, London, WC2N 5DE (786)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible

North west from Piccadilly circus.

Actually, I make this ten theatres!

October 16, 2021 Kevan

DDA 2005 – Theatre access and discrimination by TFL?

The DDA 2005 suggests that providing a reasonable alternative method of using the service, e.g. the transport for London (TFL) buses and trains, are justified in having 40 to 50 steps in a station, by having alternative and occasional buildings or bus stop which allow access to wheelchair users who have no alternative methods of travel, which is reasonable.
Except the number of bus stops which are continually being closed because of inept management of the service, which is a direct atttack on disabled travel.

I am posting this because whilst building an accessibility site for access to theatres in London, and trying to find a reasonable method of direct travel for the normal wheelchair user, who cannot climb 2 steps, let alone the 40 or 50 steps in many of the London tube undergound statiosn, and being step free is still not an option when travelling in a wheel chair, I thought maybe the excellent London buses would provide an alternative service, except I am regularly seeing the services which a wheelchair user could access are closed, and sometimes multiple bus stops are closed to travel.

I can only presume this is ineptitude by the managers of this service by closing these bus stops, as they never try to offer an alternative bus stop, the bus stop is just closed.

And whilst we are on the subject, did Crossrail run out of budget, and were unable to offer any toilets in the brand new Tottenham court road station? wtf.

If you don’t believe me about the number of London underground statiions which provide 40 to 50 steps to use their wonderful service, check out my accessible stations.