London for Disabled Visitors

The good news for disabled visitors to London is that the British government (as well as the European Union) is proactive in its efforts to make London a truly accessible city – that means as many public buildings, tourist attractions, places of business and public transport facilities as possible becoming usable for you if you’re disabled.

The bad news, however, is that it seems we are some way off seeing this effort mirrored where it matters – ie where you want to go. For example, let’s be honest, there are still precious few London Underground (Tube) stations, particularly in Zone 1, the central zone, which offer disabled access. Of course, this situation affects not only the wheelchair-bound but also parents with young children in pushchairs.

London’s Deputy Mayor, Richard Barnes, opened the recent Disability Capital conference, a summit primarily organised to discuss accessibility for the disabled around London as the city fast approaches the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, with a speech that focused on his commitment to improving public transport access for disabled people in London for the Games in 2012.

“I would like to reaffirm my commitment to equality and accessibility for the disabled. If London is not accessible for the disabled in 2012, we would have missed a huge opportunity,” he said.

The summit discussed improving public transport by creating more accessible train and bus stations not only for disability groups such as wheelchair users, but for parents and their young children, for old people and for those carrying large luggage.