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ACTION ON EQUALITY: TFL'S COMMITMENTS TO 2020 - TRANSPORT FOR ...
Action on Equality:
TfL’s commitments to 2020
ACTION ON EQUALITY: TFL'S COMMITMENTS TO 2020 - TRANSPORT FOR ...
Contents
About Transport for London
We are the integrated transport authority for London. Our
purpose is to keep London moving, working and growing
and make life in our city better. We reinvest all of our
income to run and improve London’s transport services.

Our operational responsibilities include London
Underground, London Buses, Docklands Light Railway,
London Overground, TfL Rail, London Trams, London
River Services, London Dial-a-Ride, Victoria Coach Station,
Santander Cycles and the Emirates Air Line.

On the roads, we regulate taxis and the private hire
trade, run the Congestion Charging scheme, manage
the city’s 580km red route network, operate all of the
Capital’s 6,200 traffic signals and work to ensure a safe
environment for all road users.

We are delivering one of the world’s largest programmes
of transport capital investment, which is building Crossrail,
modernising Tube services and stations, improving the road
network and making the roads safer, especially for more
vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists.

We are a pioneer in integrated ticketing and providing
information to help people move around London. Oyster
is the world’s most popular smartcard, and contactless
payment is making travel ever more convenient. Real-time
travel information is provided by us directly and through
third parties who use the data TfL makes available for free
to power apps and other services.

Improving and expanding transport in London is central to
driving economic growth, jobs and housing across the country.
ACTION ON EQUALITY: TFL'S COMMITMENTS TO 2020 - TRANSPORT FOR ...
Contents

Commissioner’s foreword........................................................ 4
About Action on Equality......................................................... 6
Understanding the issues......................................................... 7
Knowing our communities........................................................ 9
Achievements since 2012........................................................11
Our Equality and Inclusion vision..............................................15
Our equality objectives for 2016-20......................................... 16
	Customer experience...................................................................18
    Customer information..................................................................24
    Accessible network......................................................................27
    Travelling safely and securely.......................................................31
    Value for money and affordability................................................36
    Health.........................................................................................38
    Workforce diversity..................................................................... 46
    Supporting current and future employees....................................53
    Engaging with employees and promoting an inclusive culture.......57
    Our business partners................................................................. 60
    Communication and engagement................................................ 64

Action on Equality – at a glance.............................................. 66
Action Plan for 2016/17.......................................................... 69

                                                    Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020      3
ACTION ON EQUALITY: TFL'S COMMITMENTS TO 2020 - TRANSPORT FOR ...
Commissioner’s foreword

    I am very pleased to present ‘Action on     network; and the London Underground
    Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020’.       vision for design shows how future
                                                stations should look and feel, and
    This describes Transport for London’s       includes a major focus on accessibility.
    (TfL’s) vision and policy on equality
    and inclusion from 2016-20. It builds       While we have made great progress on
    on our latest research and is a result      equality and inclusion in recent years,
    of significant engagement we have           there is clearly still much, much more
    undertaken with colleagues and a wide       to do. We remain totally committed
    range of interest groups. Action on         to driving further improvements by
    Equality extends the work of the Single     embedding the values of equality and
    Equality Scheme for 2012-15.                inclusivity in everything we do and
                                                ultimately the way we deliver for our
    Sustained investment in the Capital’s       customers and users.
    transport network has delivered a more
    inclusive and accessible network, and       We will publish our progress against
    so too has our organisation. We are         the challenges identified in this report
    proud that 85 per cent of our bus stops     every year and will use Action on
    are now accessible, Legible London          Equality to set a clear direction for all
    pedestrian maps have been introduced        our future work to ensure that every
    across nearly all boroughs and real-        person matters in keeping London
    time information is available for every     moving, working and growing.
    bus stop across the Capital. In addition,
    half of our London Overground stations
    are now step-free, crime has fallen
    to an all-time low on our transport
    system, and we have increased the
    number of women and black, Asian
    and minority ethnic (BAME) colleagues       Mike Brown MVO
    at senior levels in TfL. We have also       Commissioner,
    established successful partnerships         Transport for London
    with the Metropolitan Police Service
    and the British Transport Police to
    tackle sexual harassment on the

4   Foreword
ACTION ON EQUALITY: TFL'S COMMITMENTS TO 2020 - TRANSPORT FOR ...
Mike Brown, Commissioner

                           Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   5
ACTION ON EQUALITY: TFL'S COMMITMENTS TO 2020 - TRANSPORT FOR ...
About Action on Equality

    Action on Equality sets out our
    commitments to promoting equality for
    our customers, staff and stakeholders,
    and our compliance with the Equality Act
    2010 for 2016-20.

    This document demonstrates how, as a
    public authority and in accordance with
    the Equality Act 2010, we work to show
    due regard and the need to:

    •	Eliminate unlawful discrimination,
       harassment, victimisation and other
       conduct prohibited by the Act

    •	Advance equality of opportunity
       between people who share a
       protected characteristic and those
       who do not

    •	Foster good relations between people
       who share a protected characteristic
       and those who do not

    It also provides the highlights of what we
    achieved against our previous document –
    the Single Equality Scheme (SES) 2012-15.
    Action on Equality 2016-20 replaces the
    SES and builds on its achievements.

6   About Action on Equality
ACTION ON EQUALITY: TFL'S COMMITMENTS TO 2020 - TRANSPORT FOR ...
Understanding the issues

We are aiming to address the equality     Employee engagement
issues we currently face, or expect       We continually engage with our
to face, within the next four years.      employees on the inequalities they
We identified the important equality      face and obstacles they experience to
issues in London and our organisation     improve equality in the workplace.
using feedback from customers, staff
and other stakeholders, as well as        We have engaged with staff through
research insights and data.               our Staff Network Groups in developing
                                          Action on Equality. These Staff Network
Research and insight                      Groups include the:
Our report, Travel in London:
understanding the travel needs of         •	Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic
London’s diverse communities, brings         (BAME) Network
together all our research on this topic
and forms the baseline information        • Carers’ Network
for this document. We publish this
annually. We use it to identify the       • Staff Network Group for Disability
main issues to be addressed.
                                          • Faith and Wellbeing Network
Our annual Workforce Monitoring Report
contains data on the diversity of our     •	OUTbound – our lesbian, gay men,
workforce and we used this to draw out       bisexual and trans people, plus
the issues we need to take action on.        (LGBT+) Network

We reviewed and published progress        • Women’s Network
against the Single Equality Scheme
2012-15 to identify issues yet to         Since 2013, we have carried out an annual
be resolved.                              employee engagement survey (Viewpoint)
                                          and six-monthly spot checks (Pulse).
                                          Responses made by each equality group,
                                          where they have shared this information,
                                          have helped us to detect issues specific
                                          to a particular group.

                                                Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   7
ACTION ON EQUALITY: TFL'S COMMITMENTS TO 2020 - TRANSPORT FOR ...
Customer and stakeholder                We also work with the Independent
    engagement                              Disability Advisory Group (IDAG), which
    We continually engage with our          we set up in 2007 to involve disabled
    customers and other stakeholders        people in the way that we shape and
    on improving equality through           develop our accessibility strategy.
    a number of bodies, including:
                                            IDAG is made up of six permanent
    • Youth Panel                           members – the current team was
                                            appointed in 2015, and membership is
    • Schools’ Challenge                    refreshed every year. It is an important
                                            part of our long-term commitment to
    •	Valuing People Group – a group for   achieving equality for disabled and deaf
       people with learning difficulties    people and will play an important role
                                            in ensuring our work complies with the
    • London sub-regional mobility forums   Equality Act 2010, focusing on
                                            disability discrimination.

                                            We have made considerable progress
                                            in making London more accessible to
                                            transport users, but there is still much
                                            more to do. IDAG has had input into
                                            Action on Equality and the group’s work
                                            will help to ensure we continue to make
                                            progress in this important area.

                                            We also engage with organisations that
                                            represent or work with a wide range of
                                            specific equalities groups.

    Confidence in travelling

8   Understanding the issues
ACTION ON EQUALITY: TFL'S COMMITMENTS TO 2020 - TRANSPORT FOR ...
Knowing our communities

London has changed since we                   longer and, therefore, a rise in the number
developed our Single Equality Scheme in       of older people. By 2020 almost 12 per
2012 and is predicted to change further.      cent of Londoners will be aged 65 or over.
The Capital’s population is becoming
increasingly diverse, with the proportion     And, as the likelihood of becoming
of BAME Londoners likely to rise to just      disabled increases with age, there are also
over 47 per cent in 2040. As the city’s       likely to be more disabled and mobility
population becomes more diverse our           impaired Londoners in the future.
transport system will need to serve a
widening variety of needs.                    A growing population is also likely
                                              to lead to more families with small
London also has a relatively youthful         children, who will require accessible
population, but as the city continues         travel. All of these factors will increase
to grow we expect to see people living        future demand for accessible travel.

London’s population is increasingly diverse

                                                     Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   9
ACTION ON EQUALITY: TFL'S COMMITMENTS TO 2020 - TRANSPORT FOR ...
Changes to Londoners’ diversity1

                                                                                                                                       2012
     50%                                                                                                                               2016
                                                                                                                                       2020
     45%
                                                                                                                                       2040

     40%

     35%

     30%

     25%

     20%

     15%

     10%

     5%

     0%

            Black,        Women               Older            Older           Younger          Disabled         People           LGBT2
            Asian and     and girls           people           people          people           people 16+       on low
            minority                          65 - 79          80+             under 25                          incomes2
            ethnic (BAME)

             Based on Annual Population Survey 2014, ONS and GLA 2013 round of trend-based population projections (Central variant).
            1

             The figure shows no change for LGBT and low income for future years because we do not have sufficient data to
            2

             forecast changes

     For more detail, see Travel in London:
     understanding the travel needs of
     London’s diverse communitities 2015.

10   Knowing our communities
Our achievements since 2012

We achieved improvements in equality           Communication and engagement
in the period of the Single Equality           •	We ran the successful grassroots ‘Come
Scheme 2012-15. Highlights include:               on Board’ campaign, reaching out to
                                                  smaller groups of older and disabled
Customer information                              people across the Capital. This provided
and experience                                    information about getting more out of
•	We improved signage and way-finding in         our accessible transport services and
   stations by formalising the popular extra      confidence to use them. We spoke to
   signs used during the Olympic Games            more than 2,000 people in more than
                                                  30 boroughs, and will be restarting the
•	We put in place Legible London                 campaign in 2016 to reach even more
   pedestrian maps across nearly all of
   the Capital’s boroughs and provided         •	We worked with the Metropolitan
   real-time information at every bus stop,       Police Service (MPS) and women’s
   available on smartphones or by text            groups on Project Guardian, a campaign
                                                  to encourage women to report
•	All bus drivers have received the              unwanted sexual behaviour on the
   ‘All Aboard’ training that was                 transport network. Recent statistics
   developed with disabled and older              show more than 89 per cent of people
   people’s organisations                         now feel safe on our services

•	We hosted the first accessible              •	We supported Whizz-Kidz’s Travel
   transport exhibition and conference            Alliance campaign, ‘Get on Board.’
   ‘Access all Areas’ at London’s ExCeL.          This encourages transport providers
   More than 1,500 customers and                  to support disabled people in
   stakeholders attended                          using the services, by improving
                                                  infrastructure, working with them to
                                                  understand issues better, and including
                                                  them in marketing and publicity

                                               •	Each year we ran a Youth Participation
                                                  Day where more than 50 young
                                                  people learnt about specific elements
                                                  of London’s transport network

                                                     Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   11
Building a city for everyone

     •	We regularly engaged with older,      Transport planning
        disabled, youth and women’s groups,   •	We increased the number of accessible
        meeting more than 50 individual          stations on the London Overground
        organisations each year to work          network from 34 out of 78 (44 per
        with them on specific campaigns          cent) to 56 out of 112 (50 per cent)
        and receive their feedback in order
        to make service improvements          •	We saw a 20 per cent increase in bus
                                                 stop accessibility to reach 85 per cent
                                                 of all bus stops

                                              •	We published ‘Your Accessible
                                                 Transport Network’ and its
                                                 annual updates

12   Our achievements since 2012
Safety and security                             Our workforce
•	We saw the crime rate fall on London’s       •	We increased the proportion of women
   transport network to seven per million          and BAME employees at senior levels
   passenger journeys
                                                •	We better harnessed diversity in our
•	Our Project Guardian ‘Report It to Stop         workforce and actively led the business
   It’ campaign encouraged reporting of            case for diversity within the industry.
   sexual assaults resulting in a 35 per cent      This was recognised at the 2015
   increase in reports                             Excellence in Diversity Awards with
                                                   a nomination for best Diverse Public
•	We continued our Safer Travel at                Sector Company
   Night campaigns
                                                •	By celebrating 100 years of Women
•	The proportions of groups being                 in Transport we helped raise the
   deterred from travelling because of fears       profile of women in the industry
   of crime and safety dropped                     and encouraged young women
                                                   to consider a career in transport
Health inequalities
•	There was a significant increase in the      •	We celebrated 10 years of our Staff
   number of walking trips made by women           Network Groups
   aged between 30 and 54
                                                •	We co-sponsored the new Greenwich
•	We published ‘Improving the health              University Technical College, which
   of Londoners - transport action plan’,          will provide a talent pipeline for
   the first of its kind worldwide                 our apprenticeship programmes,
                                                   specifically aimed at young people
Procurement                                        from under-represented groups
•	We created apprenticeship opportunities
   for people from BAME communities             •	We introduced a scheme to allow
   by working with our suppliers, and as a         our staff to register interest in finding
   result received the Race for Opportunity        a job share partner
   Youth Partnership and Apprenticeship
   Award in 2012 and its Collaboration and
   Partnership Award in 2013

                                                       Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   13
•	The Staff Network Groups have a            –	Producing the annual TfL Faith
        track record of raising the profile of        & Cultural calendar, promoting
        equality, both within and outside             important dates across the main
        of TfL. They have empowered                   faiths, as well as providing guidance
        employees, changed policies, created          on prayer rooms and other religious
        support networks, won awards and              observance issues
        celebrated diversity in a range of
        different ways, including:                 –	OUTbound, the LGBT network,
                                                      won the Inclusive Networks
        –	Collaborating with the ParliREACH          ‘Awesome Network’ award in 2015
           organisation in holding discussion
           forums at the Houses of Parliament      –	Creating a Women’s mentoring
           around the progress of black and           scheme and supporting the 100
           Asian communities and how the              years of women in transport
           BAME network can support them              campaign, as well as raising
                                                      awareness of women’s issues
        –	Successfully lobbying for the              through annual International
           creation of guidelines for carers          Women’s Day events
           and raising awareness among all
           managers of the barriers faced        Further detail is available in our Single
           by staff who are carers, offering     Equality Scheme progress reports
           practical solutions where possible    published in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

        –	Creating support for staff who
           have experienced mental health
           conditions or wish to help others
           who do (WellMent)

14   Our achievements since 2012
Our Equality
and Inclusion vision

Michele Dix, MD Crossrail 2 and Chair of TfL’s Equality and Inclusion Leadership Group

Our vision for Equality and Inclusion                          every journey matters to us, so too does
is that, ‘every person matters in keeping                      every person matter in helping London
London moving, working and growing’.                           thrive, in keeping London working, in
                                                               keeping London growing and making life
Action on Equality is based on this vision                     in London better.
and the policies put forward here are all
designed to contribute to this goal. This                      We have developed this vision through
means we will work together to ensure                          extensive internal consultation with key
that every individual person’s needs in                        Equality and Inclusion stakeholders,
relation to transport are understood                           including IDAG members, staff network
and acted upon, to enable them to lead                         groups, employees and chief officers from
healthy, productive and happy lives.                           across all areas of the business. This vision
                                                               forms the basis of the new TfL equality
This vision supports and builds on the                         objectives contained in this document.
overall TfL vision for London. Just as

                                                                        Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   15
Our equality objectives
     for 2016-20

     Action on Equality sets out our         For each of these issues we have
     commitments to promoting                developed a TfL equality objective
     equality for our customers, staff and   to demonstrate the improvement
     stakeholders, and our compliance with   we would like to make:
     the Equality Act 2010 for 2016.
                                             1.	Ensure our services will be
     1. Customer experience                      accessible to more people, with
                                                 consistent customer service that
     2. Customer information                     meets the needs of all customers

     3. Accessible network                   2.	Ensure that more customers will
                                                 have access to the information they
     4. Travelling safely and securely           need to make the most of travel
                                                 in London
     5. Value for money and affordability
                                             3.	Improve the accessibility of
     6. Health                                   London’s transport infrastructure
                                                 to enable more people to make
     7.   Workforce diversity                    the most of life in the Capital

     8.	Supporting current and future
         employees

     9.	Engaging with employees and
         promoting an inclusive culture

     10. Our business partners

     11. Communication and engagement

16   Our equality objectives for 2016-20
4.	Ensure that travel in London is safer
    and fewer young people, women
    and people from BAME communities
    are deterred from travelling because
    of safety concerns

5.	Ensure we offer value for money
    for all Londoners with a fare
    structure which is clear and
    well communicated

6.	Ensure that our transport system
    promotes and improves the health
    of all Londoners

7.	Achieve a workforce which is
    reflective and representative of
    the diversity of London

8.	Ensure all future and current
    employees are supported to make
    the most of their skills and talents

9.	Create a more inclusive culture
    where all staff feel engaged

10.	Encourage more of our partner
     organisations to have diversity as
     a core value

11.	Engage with more of London’s
     diverse communities to effectively
     inform, develop and deliver our
     strategies, services and programmes

                                            Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   17
Customer experience
     All of our customers should be able to travel
     with confidence and benefit from a high-quality,
     consistent transport network.

     Our customers’ journeys do not begin
     when they enter a station or bus and end
     when they leave; they begin the moment
     they think about travelling. These journeys
     include driving, walking or cycling on the
     Capital’s roads and our services should
     be accessible to all Londoners as far as
     possible. This includes our online and
     customer services and customer advice,
     as well as information about TfL’s policies
     and operations.

     Feedback, research, consultation and
     complaints from people using our
     network help shape and improve our
     services. Generally customers are
     satisfied with the level of customer
     experience, yet there are areas where we
     can provide a better experience to the
     Capital’s diverse population.

     We know that disabled and older
     Londoners travel less frequently than
     non-disabled Londoners. The main
     transport modes used by disabled
     people are also used by non-disabled          Priority seating is still an issue for older and disabled people
     people – namely walking, the bus and
     the car. One reason older and disabled        which may impact on their likelihood
     people travel less is that they tend to       to travel.
     have less access to information about
     accessible travel than other Londoners.       We have identified six priority action
     In addition, research shows that the          areas in addition to our commitment
     quality of journey experience for an          to improving the customer experience
     older or disabled customer can vary,          across the network.

18   Customer experience
setting off before mobility impaired
                                          people are seated. The complexity of
                                          London’s bus operations can mean
                                          job descriptions and expectations of
                                          customer service are inconsistent, while
                                          high bus driver turnover also creates a
                                          challenge. Driver training, communication
                                          and recruitment are critical to improving
                                          customer experience.

                                          2. Priority seating
                                          There can be conflict over the use
                                          of priority seating on transport services.
                                          Many Londoners need a seat when
                                          travelling, including:

                                          • Disabled people

                                          • Older people

                                          • Pregnant women

                                          •	Those travelling with a child aged
                                             three or under

                                          •	People with hidden conditions
                                             and illnesses
1. Buses
The quality of service from bus drivers   It is encouraging that awareness of
is the largest complaint from mobility    priority seating is high among customers
impaired customers. Issues include not    on all transport modes, especially
helping to resolve conflict between       the bus. Yet 30 per cent of people
buggy users and wheelchair users, not     who need a seat have experienced a
deploying the ramp effectively and        situation when another customer does

                                                Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   19
not voluntarily give up a priority seat.        5. Door-to-door transport
     We are committed to finding ways to             Disabled people have told us that they
     ensure that priority seating is available       are sometimes not able to get help from
     to those who need it.                           taxi and private hire drivers when needed.
                                                     Additionally, on occasion, customers
     3. Taxi and private hire                        are unable to use Dial-a-Ride for all the
     We know wheelchair users can have               journeys they would like to.
     difficulty hailing a taxi, and that customers
     with assistance dogs have experienced a         6. Customer complaints
     lack of willingness on behalf of taxi and       We are committed to providing an
     private hire drivers to provide a service.      excellent level of service to all customers
     It is illegal to refuse service to a person     and to continuously improving their
     with an assistance dog or a wheelchair          experience. The reputation of an
     user, or any other protected characteristic.    organisation is defined by how it recovers
     Disabled customer satisfaction is lower         from getting something wrong, and
     for taxis than for all other transport types    complaints provide an opportunity for us
     and this is a focused area for action in the    to learn and improve.
     life of this plan.
                                                     In this spirit, and as a result of a
     4. Underground and rail                         recommendation made by the London
     ramp availability                               Assembly, we commissioned an external
     On the Underground, the use of                  audit into our response to complaints,
     manual boarding ramps and availability          including the process for internal
     of staff to help is an important area           escalation. The audit recognised the
     for development and our current                 substantial work already done in making
     Fit for the Future programme will               our service better and the importance
     improve staff availability. We also             of our customers as well as an appetite
     recognise on-site station staff and             to continuously progress. The audit
     communication between stations                  identified several ways we can improve
     is equally important to providing all           and we are committed to doing so.
     customers, but particularly those who
     require assistance, with the confidence
     to complete their journey as planned.

20   Customer experience
Our equality objective                         a particular focus on improving the
We aim to ensure our services will             customer experience, and roll this out
be accessible to more people, with             to all new drivers
consistent customer service that meets
the needs of all customers.                  •	Develop a bespoke customer
                                                experience training course for all
Our vision for customer experience              London Buses’ employees, all 24,700
is that disabled and older people will          drivers and private bus operator
experience improved levels of customer          support staff, to be delivered between
service on buses, door-to-door services         April 2016 and March 2018
and across the TfL network with less
conflict over priority seating and greater   •	Complete a review to improve
availability of and support from staff.         communications to all staff and
                                                bus drivers to promote better
To achieve this we will:                        customer experience

Buses                                        Priority seating
•	Provide training materials for all        •	Follow up on recent research by
   bus drivers to ensure they have an           considering the following options:
   excellent understanding of disability
   and TfL policies                            –		Increase the consistency of priority
                                                   seating signage across all transport
•	Encourage a more customer-centric               types and include people with
   culture across London Buses and                 hidden conditions
   bus operators by developing positive
   communications and personal                 –		Make more staff announcements
   development                                     on priority seating particularly when
                                                   customers are boarding, including
•	Develop the customer experience                 making a recorded message
   function within London Buses

•	Replace the old BTEC qualification
   with a new City & Guilds qualification
   (from January 2016), which includes

                                                   Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   21
–		Explore a voluntary card and/or      •	Review policy on wheelchair and
            badge scheme for people who              assistance dogs refusals for taxi
            need priority seating                    and private hire drivers and private
                                                     hire operators
        –		Develop a training course to
            help staff recognise and assist       •	Develop an information campaign
            customers with hidden disabilities.      on wheelchair refusals for private
            The course will be available to all      hire drivers to remind drivers of their
            staff online.                            legal obligations

     Taxi and private hire                        •	Investigate complaints in TfL
     •	Introduce job descriptions for taxi          Enforcement and On-street
        drivers that put customer service first      Operations (EOS)

     •	Trial signage for private hire vehicles   London Underground and Rail
        to reduce touting                         •	Complete the roll out of Fit For the
                                                     Future to improve customer service
     • Trial a guidance book for taxi drivers        and increase visibility and availability
                                                     of staff
     •	Monitor the recently launched
        assistance dogs campaign which            •	Introduce a new Turn Up And Go
        provides information for private hire        (TUAG) application on TfL hand
        drivers on their legal obligations.          held devices to assist staff deliver
        Increase circulation of an                   a consistent and simple service
        information leaflet for customers            to customers
        on assistance dogs
                                                  Door-to-door transport
     •	Introduce disability equality training    •	Review current policy that focuses
        for private hire drivers and review          Dial-a-Ride on providing local journeys
        equality training given to taxi drivers
                                                  •	Improve customer information about
                                                     the available options for door-to-
                                                     door transport, including Dial-a-Ride
                                                     and Taxicard

22   Customer experience
•	Develop and pilot a disability equality      against aims across the business,
   e-learning course for taxi, private hire     particularly buses, taxis and private hire
   and community transport drivers              services

Customer complaints                           •	The proportion of older and disabled
In 2015 we commissioned an external              passengers using public transport
review of the way we handle customer
complaints. As a result we are                •	The level of customer satisfaction
committed to:                                    about priority seating

•	Making it easier for customers to          •	The level of customer awareness
   see that we act on complaints and             of accessible journeys and travel
   wider feedback
                                              •	The number of complaints following
•	Ensuring we effectively capture all           the launch of the assistance dogs
   issues arising from complaints to             campaign; each one will be investigated
   provide useful data that help address
   the root causes of dissatisfaction         •	The number of complaints received
                                                 about taxi and private hire services
•	Taking further steps to ensure that           and successful prosecutions that have
   employees feel empowered to                   resulted in driver suspension
   resolve issues effectively first time         or a withdrawn licence

•	Providing customers with a consistent      •	Customer satisfaction scores of taxi
   experience across all service areas,          and private hire passengers
   including explaining how complaints
   can be escalated

We will measure our performance using:

•	Information from the Customer
   Satisfaction Survey, Mystery Traveller
   Survey and Accessibility Mystery
   Traveller Survey to measure progress

                                                    Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   23
Customer information
     The importance of information in ensuring
     all Londoners and visitors can make the most
     of life in the capital.

     Information on the move

     The provision of information is           Clear, accurate, timely and accessible
     fundamentally linked to the provision     information is critical to ensuring every
     of accessible journeys.                   trip is as smooth as possible. It also
                                               ensures all Londoners and visitors
     Both the journey and information          have the knowledge and awareness
     should be able to shift seamlessly from   they need to make the most of life in
     mode to mode and react to changing        the Capital. Our customers’ journeys
     circumstances.                            don’t start when they get to a stop or
                                               a station, they start at home or the
                                               office, or any other location they may
                                               be travelling from.

24   Customer information
Our research shows that both                 Our vision is for better, clearer,
customers and staff are unaware              simpler and more personal, customer
of the breadth of accessible travel          information that is accurate and
information that we provide and do           delivered in real time, with high quality
not know where to go to find it. When        details about accessibility requirements.
shown the information and the ways           It will also be readily available in
we provide it, customers feel it is fairly   different formats with customers
comprehensive, although some gaps            more aware of what is on offer.
have been identified.
                                             To achieve this we will:
Information needs to be made available
across many channels, including              •	Explore how we can expand
traditional print, to meet the wide             accessibility information online
variety of customer needs. For example,         on Journey Planner
London’s cycle hire scheme and the
Cycle Superhighways have a low level         •	Develop a better understanding
of recognition as a transport option by         of how people use our accessibility
BAME communities.                               information and how this can be
                                                improved using customer research,
Information and infrastructure that             such as workshops and surveys
helps people travel seamlessly from
our services to those run by other           •	Create and deliver innovative ways
operators, ensures customers visiting           to communicate accessibility
London have a better experience.                information to our customers

Our equality objective                       •	Expand our capability to provide
We aim to ensure that more customers            personalised information to
will have access to the information they        customers, including those with
need when they need it, to make the             specific needs
most out of travel in London.
                                             •	Review how complex step-free
                                                interchanges are shown or signposted
                                                to make it easier for passengers to
                                                plan journeys and use these routes

                                                   Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   25
•	Review whether accessible                 •	Run an integrated marketing campaign
        interchanges shown on the main               in 2016 to raise awareness of the
        Tube map should be shown as links            information available and how it can be
        between stations, to better reflect          accessed. This will include material in
        the distance to travel                       print, poster and radio, as well as digital
                                                     mediums, to communicate with people
     •	Develop and promote a London-                who do not have access to the internet.
        specific travel mentoring training
        course and qualification, and             This campaign will feature disabled
        encourage its take up by local travel     people’s stories and experiences of
        mentoring schemes                         travelling on the network

     •	More actively promote the use of          •	Conduct research into current
        Santander Cycles and cycling in general      information and how it is used by
        to people from BAME communities              spring 2016 (including identifying
                                                     any gaps)
     •	Work closely with London Councils
        and the boroughs to achieve greater       We will measure progress using:
        integration of TfL-funded door-to-
        door services, and ensure that disabled   •	Uptake of accessibility information
        Londoners are aware of the options           products (for example, orders for
        available to them                            posters, helpline use and downloads
                                                     from website)
     •	Jointly produce marketing and
        promotional materials for all             •	Formal surveys including the TfL
        TfL-funded assisted transport                Customer Satisfaction Survey
        services by April 2017, including
        Dial-a-Ride, Taxicard and the Travel      • Customer and stakeholder feedback
        Mentoring Service
                                                  •	Data on the diversity of people taking
                                                     up cycling and using Santander Cycles

                                                  •	Customer awareness of information
                                                     products and developments

26   Customer information
Accessible network
Accessible transport infrastructure is vital to
enable all Londoners to make the most of travel
in the Capital.

Step-free schemes increase accessibility       of London’s 260 Underground stations
for wheelchair users, people with physical     and 56 of its 112 London Overground
access needs, and customers with               stations are step-free. Manual boarding
buggies and heavy luggage. However,            ramps have been introduced at 55 Tube
accessibility is about more than just          stations and platform ramps at more
physical infrastructure; it extends to         than 50. We are working on innovative
all TfL services and operations.               manual boarding ramp designs for
                                               narrow platform spaces to enable use
The Mayor’s Transport Strategy and the         on more platforms.
Accessibility Implementation Plan use
the ‘whole journey approach’. This aims        We also know that 79 per cent of
to make transport easier to use for all        disabled Londoners have used the bus
Londoners by promoting measures to             in the past year compared with 92 per
further improve the physical accessibility     cent of non-disabled Londoners. Most
of the transport system, ie our streets,       bus stops are now accessible, so this
bus stops, stations and vehicles.              data shows that, while we must continue
                                               with schemes such as our bus shelter
It is our responsibility to remove barriers    modernisation programme, we must
such as congested pavements and                also look to removing barriers other than
overcrowded stations. The physical             physical infrastructure to increase the
accessibility of London’s streets, including   ridership of disabled Londoners.
the condition of footways, is important
to improving people’s experience of            There are many other measures that
their local area. It is also necessary for     work together to make a station or a
increasing walking and enabling the            vehicle accessible. For example, wide-
use of public transport. In addition,          aisle ticket gates can make journeys
enhancing information, more visible and        easier for those who find standard
better-trained staff and providing better      ticket gates difficult to use, including
interchanges will improve accessibility.       wheelchair users and people travelling
                                               with buggies or large luggage. Working
London has one of the most accessible          with a number of organisations, we
transport networks in the world;               are developing mobile technology to
however, we know that it is not always         enable visually impaired people to travel
accessible to everyone. At present, 67         independently through stations.

                                                     Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   27
Our equality objective                       London Underground and Rail
     We aim to further improve the physical       •	Make a further 15 Underground and
     accessibility of the transport system to        nine London Overground stations
     enable more people to make the most             step-free by 2020
     of life in the Capital.
                                                  • Make all new stations step-free
     Our vision is for a transport network in
     London with more step-free Overground        •	Install 93 more wide-aisle gates
     and Underground stations, with more             at 60 more stations as part of our
     wide-aisle gates, manual boarding ramps         improvements programme
     and platform humps in more stations.
     There will be more accessible bus            •	Install more manual boarding
     stops and a better environment across           ramps and platform humps at
     the network, including taxis, private hire      Underground stations
     services and our streets for people with
     a range of impairments.                      •	Deliver projects to increase capacity
                                                     and reduce congestion, including
     To achieve this we will:                        station improvements and upgrades,
                                                     increasing frequencies and
     •	Develop a planning method to prioritise      enhancing design
        and guide decisions on accessible
        infrastructure that considers long-       •	Promote accessible design for our
        term issues, such as London’s growth         stations and the areas around them
                                                     through the London Underground
     •	Encourage people to travel differently       Design Idiom guidelines
        (for example by cycling, walking and
        avoiding peak hours) in order             • W
                                                     ork with the Department for
        to reduce congestion                        Transport to manage more rail services
                                                    in London in order to make them more
                                                    accessible and ensure that stations are
                                                    staffed from first to last train

28   Accessible network
Step-free schemes increase accessibility

                                           Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   29
Buses                                      Taxis and private hire
     •	Continue our bus shelter                •	Carry out an accessibility audit of
        modernisation programme at a               all TfL-appointed taxi ranks across
        rate of 650 a year. We have already        London to ensure they are fully
        installed 3,100 redesigned perch           accessible
        seats with arm-rests, which benefit,
        for example, people with arthritis      •	Provide more taxi ranks through
                                                   the ranks action plan, which will see
     •	Make 95 per cent of all bus stops          a 20 per cent increase by 2020
        fully accessible by end of 2016 and
        look at ways for all our stops to       •	Make card payment acceptance
        be accessible                              compulsory in taxis in October 2016,
                                                   including contactless payments
     •	Trial a retro-fit arm-rest for older
        shelter models in early 2016            •	Work with taxi vehicle manufacturers
                                                   on the new generation zero emission
     Streets                                       capable vehicles encouraging more
     •	Promote best practice for urban            accessibility features such as forward
        design using Streetscape Guidance,         facing wheelchair positions
        published in 2016. Maintain financial
        support in 2016/17 to help the          We will measure progress using:
        boroughs pay for local transport
        projects set out in their Local         •	Statistics on introducing step-
        Implementation Plans (LIPs). Local         free access and other accessibility
        areas will see safer roads, better         improvements across the
        public spaces, improved walking            transport network
        facilities and cycling made safer
        and easier                              •	Measures developed in the new
                                                   step-free prioritisation methodology

                                                •	Percentage of disabled people
                                                   using the transport network and
                                                   satisfaction surveys

30   Accessible network
Travelling safely and securely
There are differences in the way equality groups
experience the safety and security of transport.

Safety and security is a greater concern        This masks the problem and makes it
for young people, women and BAME                more difficult to address.
people than other groups. For them,
the impact of fear of crime is greatest         Crime and antisocial behaviour concerns
at night, particularly on buses and             affect the frequency of travel for
the Underground.                                disabled and non-disabled Londoners.
                                                During the day this is more the case for
Antisocial behaviour is the second biggest      disabled Londoners than non-disabled
barrier to increased public transport use       Londoners. However, concern among
for older and disabled Londoners, and it        these two groups becomes similar when
is a bigger concern for BAME communities        travelling at night.
and women.
                                                Safe roads are also very important to
The street environment is also                  ensuring the safety and security of
experienced differently by particular           Londoners when travelling. Around 80
groups. Children, older people and BAME         per cent of all people killed or seriously
people are more likely to be involved           injured (KSI) are vulnerable road users:
in road traffic collisions, while young         pedestrians, cyclists or motorcyclists.
Londoners are slightly more likely to           In some circumstances age, gender,
have experienced a worrying event when          disability, ethnicity and income can
travelling on the Capital’s public transport.   make certain people more at risk of
                                                being seriously injured or killed than
Some groups, women and young people             others. Many of our programmes are
in particular, experience unwanted sexual       focused on groups or locations with
behaviour while travelling in London. This      a high risk and a high number of KSIs.
is an issue both during the day and in the      The strongest link between deprivation
evenings. Incidents are underreported,          and injury risk is for pedestrians: the
meaning offences are not appropriately          most deprived are twice as likely to be
dealt with.                                     injured as the least deprived.

Some groups are also vulnerable to hate         Our equality objective
crime when travelling in London. Again,         We aim to ensure that travel in London
a large number of hate crimes carried           is safer and fewer young people, women
out on public transport are not reported.       and people from BAME communities are

                                                      Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   31
Getting around London

     deterred from travelling because          •	Provide reassurance to bus
     of safety concerns.                          passengers through policing, CCTV,
                                                  lighting, signage and well trained staff
     Our vision is for a transport network
     where incidents of crime and road         •	Tackle worries of crime by listening
     casualties are even lower. Where             and responding to local concerns
     all people, but particularly younger         about crime and antisocial behaviour
     Londoners, women and people from
     BAME communities, feel safer and          •	Educate year six students to be
     confident that they can travel without       safe and responsible users of public
     fear of worrying experiences or              transport through the TfL Safety
     antisocial behaviour at any time of the      and Citizenship scheme’s interactive
     day or night on any form of transport.       presentations

     To achieve this we will:                  •	Support student groups in at least 50
                                                  secondary schools to deliver targeted
     Safety, security and night travel            safety and citizenship projects
     •	Improve bus stop lighting through a
        continuing programme of upgrades to    •	Focus on communities and individuals
        LED (currently 2,500 locations)           who demonstrate greater levels of fear
                                                  of crime

32   Travelling safely and securely
•	Carry out joint operations with the MPS     –		Improving the most dangerous
   and BTP to reduce crime                            junctions for vulnerable road users

•	Promote safety through community            –		Targeting infrastructure
   engagement and school events                      improvements on the Transport for
                                                     London Road Network (TLRN), many
•	Carry out dedicated operations with               of which focus on locations with
   the MPS Cabs Enforcement Unit and                 high numbers of people from BAME
   City of London Police                             groups and low income

•	Work with London’s boroughs to              –		Education and training for school
   encourage the clearing of signage and           children, including Children’s Traffic
   clutter from footways                           Club and the Youth/Junior Travel
                                                   Ambassador schemes
•	Continue providing a rapid-response
   service that gets rid of more than          –		Marketing campaigns focused on
   30,000 instances of offensive or                changing the behaviours that lead to
   extensive graffiti from bus stops each          collisions to improve conditions for
   year (in addition to routine removal of         vulnerable road users
   minor graffiti)
                                             •	Trial 20mph in 10 locations to improve
•	Tackle unbooked and unlicensed               the environment for walking and cycling
   private hire vehicles that pose a
   serious risk to the travelling public,    •	Deliver programmes for pedestrian
   particularly women                           safety improvements in Peckham and
                                                Tooting town centres. Both areas have
Road safety                                     high numbers of BAME communities
•	Carry out the actions detailed in the        and a high risk of pedestrian casualties
   following documents: Safe Streets for
   London, Pedestrian Safety Action Plan,    •	Roll out Safe Drive Stay Alive – a
   Motorcycle Safety Action Plan and            scheme focusing on the behaviour
   Cycle Safety Action Plan. Some of the        of young drivers, who are more likely
   actions that relate directly to higher       to be involved in a serious collision –
   risk groups are:                             targeting 18,000 participants

                                                    Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   33
•	Deliver a new one-to-one                   •	Continue working with the police and
        training scheme for motorcycle                bus operators to ensure evidence is
        or scooter riders                             collected quickly and investigated

     •	Re-launch the Children’s Traffic           •	Provide reassurance to bus
        Club, aiming for more than                    passengers through visible policing
        103,000 participants                          and trained TfL staff while on patrol

     •	Work in partnership with the police        •	Continue working with the police
        to deliver targeted policing and              to actively promote ‘Project
        enforcement and engagement                    Guardian’ – our initiative that
        activity on the road network to improve       tackles sexual offences on London’s
        the safety of all road users. Examples        transport network
        include:
                                                   Hate crime and vulnerable adults
         –		Operation Safeway: roadside           and children
             enforcement at key junctions          •	Continue to promote the ways
             enforcing the rules of the road and      people can report hate crime to
             engaging with road users                 help intelligence-led policing

         –		Community Roadwatch: local            •	Improve the methods for customers
             transport policing teams working         to report their concerns to us
             with communities to tackle speeding
                                                   •	Improve our approach to safeguarding
         –		enhanced education and training for      our most vulnerable groups of
             vulnerable road users                    customers and ensure full real-time
                                                      reporting of cases
     Unwanted sexual behaviour
     •	Continue promoting ‘Report it              •	Train and equip customer service
        to Stop it’ through a variety of              staff to better understand and act
        media channels                                on the issues and review giving
                                                      staff the ‘true vision’ app for their
     •	Visit schools in London to deliver            handheld devices which can be used
        tailored lesson plans                         to report such crimes

34   Travelling safely and securely
•	Work in partnership with police and    •	The number of young people
   local authority safeguarding boards       experiencing worrying events on
                                             public transport, with a target to
•	Provide additional support to the         reduce this from 20 per cent to 17
   British Transport Police (BTP) for        per cent
   their campaign by making additional
   poster inventory available in          •	Educate all year six students
   geographic hot spots                      (around 95,000) about safe and
                                             independent travel
We will measure progress using:
                                          •	Statistics on public awareness
•	Statistics on the rates of crime,         of unacceptable behaviours
   particularly incidents at night
                                          •	Number of staff trained as percentage
•	Our Safety and Security Quarterly         of total staff in safeguarding vulnerable
   update to monitor the reduction in        groups of customers
   the percentage of Londoners who are
   deterred from using public transport   •	Safer Travel at Night (STAN)
   because of concerns about crime           campaign impact
   and antisocial behaviour, especially
   after dark                             •	Number of safeguarding interventions
                                             and/or referrals
• Our Safety and Security Survey
                                          •	Road safety statistics, such as
• MPS and BTP data                           STATS19 and AccSTATS

•	Customer Satisfaction Surveys for      •	The number of female night bus
   bus stops and shelters                    customers, with an aim to increase
                                             as a proportion of ridership
•	Mystery Traveller Data
                                          •	Responses to stated behaviour change
                                             in our behaviour change programme

                                                 Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   35
Value for money and
     affordability
     Travel in London must provide value for money.

     This ensures everybody has the              Additionally, free or discounted fares
     opportunity to make the most of life        are available to:
     in the Capital. For transport to be
     considered to offer value for money,        •	Londoners in full-time education,
     the level of service must be high and          or on a mandatory work placement
     the cost must be affordable.                   in the Capital

     Delays, overcrowding and ‘dirty’            • London apprentices
     environments can reduce sense
     of value for money.                         • Eligible unemployed people

     The income of some Londoners and            • Eligible war veterans
     visitors can be a barrier to them using
     public transport. We also know that         Some stakeholders are concerned
     some communities find the fare pricing      that low income night workers may
     structure confusing.                        have increased travelling costs if the
                                                 Night Bus service changes because of
     We are working to ensure travel in          the introduction of the Night Tube.
     London is affordable for everyone.          Bus service provision is based on a
     Travel is free for all children under 11,   number of considerations including
     wheelchair users and all residents aged     travel demand. After the Night Tube
     60 and over. Londoners aged up to 18        is introduced demand for Night Bus
     in full-time education get free bus and     services will be monitored.
     tram travel and discounts on our other
     services. All UK residents over the state   One of the biggest factors that
     pension age can travel for free on buses    determines affordability in London
     in the Capital.                             is the cost of housing. This has risen
                                                 sharply in recent years, partly due to
                                                 a lack of supply. However, transport
                                                 can play a critical role in addressing
                                                 the situation and helping to deliver a
                                                 substantial amount of new housing.

36   Value for money and affordability
Cashless travel

Our equality objective                       •	Maintain and improve the customer
We aim to ensure we offer value for             service experience, particularly on buses
money for all Londoners with a clear
and well communicated fares structure.       •	Support housing supply by
                                                building new homes on our land,
Our vision is to provide clear, consistent      and using transport schemes to
communications and high levels of               unlock new development
customer experience so that people
feel they receive good value for money.      We will measure progress using:

To achieve this we will:                     •	Feedback from equalities groups
                                                on whether affordability continues
•	Provide clearer information on fares         to be a significant barrier to public
   and payment types                            transport use

•	Consider what value for money             •	Benchmark our performance in
   means for our customers                      customer service and quality of
                                                services against other similar (large
•	Study the relationship between               and mature) transport systems
   social and economic inequalities in
   London and the affordability of the       •	Customer Satisfaction Survey
   transport network                            data on the level of customer
                                                service provided
•	Train staff to communicate correct
   fare prices through the Fit for the
   Future programme

                                                    Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020   37
Health
     Transport can play a significant role in enabling
     people to be more active each day.

     Active travel                               Cycling and walking levels tend
     Londoners are facing the same               to vary between London’s diverse
     health challenges as people across          communities. Older and disabled
     the UK with ‘lifestyle’ diseases such as    people are less likely to walk or cycle
     diabetes, obesity and heart disease on      and BAME groups are less likely to
     the rise. Such conditions can take a toll   cycle. To encourage more cycling, we
     on health and life expectancy. A leading    have awarded 31 community groups
     cause of illness and early death among      and not-for-profit organisations grants
     Londoners today is physical inactivity.     of up to £10,000, through Cycling
                                                 Grants London.
     Transport can play a significant role in
     enabling people to be more active each      Young people are becoming less active
     day, thereby improving their health         and obesity in children is a major
     and wellbeing. Cycling and walking          concern. In 2013/14, obesity in the
     are the main active ways of travelling      Capital’s children was more than 18 per
     in the Capital. Public transport is also    cent higher than the rest of England,
     an active mode of transport – half of       so creating an environment where
     all walking journeys are part of public     active travel options are attractive and
     transport trips.                            accessible to all is critical to improving
                                                 Londoners’ health.
     Many more Londoners are choosing
     to cycle than 10 years ago and the          Air quality
     distance and minutes they cycle each        In addition to promoting healthy
     day has increased. Most active travel       travel options, transport plays a role
     trips in the city are made by walking,      in creating healthy environments. The
     with little difference in gender. While     transport system, specifically motor
     the levels of walking by mode share         vehicles, contributes significantly to
     remains consistently high, the distance     air pollution that has a negative impact
     and minutes walked each day by              on the health of Londoners. In 2010,
     Londoners has fallen.                       there were the equivalent of more than
                                                 9,000 early deaths caused by pollutants
                                                 nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and PM2.5. NO2
                                                 is largely created by diesel vehicles.

38   Health
36                   67

         17                   27

Who is walking
         12     as            25Percentage of groups
part of their weekly             that walk per week
transport trip
                                 100%

                                 80%

                                 60%

                                 40%

                                 20%

96%
                                 0%

                                             Older people

                                                                       Disabled

                                                                                         BAME
 of Londoners walk
 at least once a week

Who is Cycling as                Percentage of groups
part of their weekly             that cycle per week
transport trip
                                 10%

                                 8%

                                 6%

                                 4%

14%
                                 2%

                                 0%
                                         Older people

                                                            Disabled

                                                                                  BAME

                                                                                          Women

of Londoners cycle
at least once a week

                        Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020                            39
Some groups are more likely to live in        To achieve this we will:
     areas where air pollution levels are higher
     and some are more vulnerable to air           Active travel
     pollution. People living in London’s most     •	Continue to embed the Healthy
     deprived neighbourhoods are on average           Streets approach set out in the
     more exposed to poor air quality than            Transport Action Plan – Improving the
     those in less deprived areas. Children,          Health of Londoners, to make streets
     older people, and people living with             more inviting for walking and cycling
     certain chronic conditions are
     particularly vulnerable.                      •	Improve the design of streets and
                                                      footways we manage for pedestrians
     Our equality objective
     We aim for a transport system that            •	Work with boroughs, Business
     promotes and improves the health                 Improvement Districts and community
     of all Londoners.                                groups, to promote the good
                                                      design of streets and footways that
     Our vision for a healthier London is a           they manage, for example through
     city where active travel is more attractive      publication of guidance and good
     and accessible to all, especially older,         practice such as TfL Better Streets
     disabled and BAME groups. This                   Delivered and the TfL Streets Toolkit
     means improvement in the quality of
     London’s streets, with more streets that      •	Continue the TfL Future Streets
     encourage a healthy active lifestyle, for        Incubator Fund to invest in ideas
     example through greater provision of             that improve London’s streets
     Cycle Superhighways, Quietways and
     safer junctions. A healthier London will      •	Work with boroughs to improve
     also be a city with better air quality,          wayfinding and street signage
     bringing improved health to its residents
     particularly deprived communities, the
     young and older members of society.

40   Health
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