please empty your brain below
which is likely to be the bigger barrier to users.
in zone one it's likely to be notting hill gate or thereabouts (depending on how you count shepherds bush)
The Overground and Thameslink stations have been rebuilt in recent years and are now step free, but Jubilee is not (and nearby Finchley Road also is not, for a lengthy powered wheelchair interchange to Met from West Hampstead).
The proposed redevelopment of the o2 shopping centre for housing is likely to resolve the gap, with a partial redevelopment of West Hampstead station (previously estimated at £12m), but that is realistically still a decade away.
The reality despite decades of inclusivity training, legal protections, and promises to "do better", the following is still all too frequent:
Bus drivers refuse to lower the ramp
Drive past the stop
To refuse to intervene when someone refuses to move their folding pushchair from the disabled area
To not lower the boarding ramp at the destination stop
Claim the ramp is broken
To become verbally aggressive when challenged politly over refusals
This is what I witnessed whilst assisting a disabled person as able bodied young man.
The reality is you can often wait 3-4 busses until you are able to board. Add to that the reality that a 10-minute walking connection takes longer and is physically exhausting for a wheelchair user - even when being pushed the bumps and jolts of London pavements take a toll - it is often necessary to take more connecting buses than an able bodied person.
A good example is Caledonian Road to Battersea Power Station. Both are accessible tube stops, however the only link on the tube network, involves going via Golders Green.
This means two tubes and the bus from vauxhall, or three busses.
If you opt to take the bus, it should take approximately 70 minutes. Now factoring across 3 bus journeys, you have an issue boarding three buses (be that spread evenly, or multiple issues in a row on one transfer.) With headways of 8-10 minutes on 2 out of 3 of those buses, you can easily end up 30 minutes later than an able bodied person starting at exactly the same bus stop and time as you.
Factor in the emotional stress, physical toll, and increased threat of mugging and worse when sat as vulnerable person on the street, unable to board the bus; is it hardly surprising that many disabled people view accessible transport as not fit for purpose?
As can be seen by the number of exemptions for people with limited mobility from congestion charge, ulez and parking, it is clear ear that even our staunchly anti-car mayor and city hall can see that public transport does not fulfil a viable alternative.
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