Sustainable transport in London
routes, 49 rail stations and 23 rail lines’ in a 138km ring around outer London, 36 reducing travel times between areas in outer London.
Overall, only 33% of Londoners live in areas with ‘high’ connectivity – a PTAL score of four or above (yellow to dark red). 37 As such, while the use of public transport is up, it only accounts for over half of daily journeys in one area: the City of London. Private transport forms a larger share of daily trips than public transport in 23 London boroughs, 38 although only four of these 39 have more than half of daily trips completed using private transport. 40 As such, improvements to public transport access outside central London, such as the Superloop, should be prioritized to increase public transport use in outer London boroughs. Accessibility Accessibility on London’s transport networks has been improving since 2000, with all buses fully wheelchair-accessible since 2005 and priority seating introduced in 2008. 41 All DLR stations and Tramlink stops have step-free access from street to train (STT), 42 making the services more accessible for people in wheelchairs and more convenient for people with pushchairs and reduced mobility. Furthermore, all Elizabeth line stations have step-free access from street to platform (STP), with dedicated wheelchair spaces in the fifth carriage. 43 Wheelchair users are further supported with signage directing them to boarding points. However, overall, only 55% of stations on TfL’s transport systems have step-free access, with that figure falling to 46% when excluding light rail stations, as the Overground and Underground fare poorly in this regard. While 54% of Overground stations have step-free STP access, only 7 of the network’s 112 stations have step-free STT access. The first wide aisle ticket gates on the Underground were installed in 2008, 44 but only 34% of Underground stations currently have step-free access, 45 hindering travel for people with reduced mobility. However, progress is being made, with 23 more stations made step-free since 2016. Most recently, step-free access was introduced at Knightsbridge in April 2025. 46 The Mayor of London aims for half of Underground stations to have step-free access by 36 Transport for London, ‘London’s Superloop express bus network celebrates one year anniversary’, July 18, 2024, accessed August 24, 2025, https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2024/july/london-ssuperloop-express- bus-network-celebrates-one-year-anniversary. 37 Transport for London, ‘Travel in London 2024: Annual overview’, 48. 38 See Figure 11 in appendix. 39 Havering, Bromley, Sutton and Bexley. 40 Transport for London, ‘Travel in London 2024: Annual overview’, 17. 41 Transport for London, ‘25 years of TfL innovations and improvements’, Made by TfL Blog , January 27, 2025, accessed August 20, 2025, https://madeby.tfl.gov.uk/2025/01/27/tfl-25-years/. 42 The following statistics for step-free access were calculated using Transport for London, ‘Tube map’, June 2025, accessed August 16, 2025, https://tfl.gov.uk/maps/track/tube.
43 Transport for London, ‘Wheelchair access & avoiding stairs’, accessed August 18, 2025, https://tfl.gov.uk/transport-accessibility/wheelchair-access-and-avoiding-stairs.
44 Transport for London, ‘TfL celebrates 25 years of supporting the growth and development of the capital’, January 27, 2025, accessed August 19, 2025, https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/pressreleases/2025/january/tfl-celebrates- 25-years-of-supporting-the-growth-and-development-of-thecapital. 45 Transport for London, ‘Delivering the Mayor’s Transport Strategy 2024/25’, 76. 46 Laura Reynolds, ‘Knightsbridge Station Now Has Step-Free Access’, Londonist , April 29, 2025, accessed August 23, 2025, https://londonist.com/london/transport/knightsbridge-station-now-has-stepfree-access.
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