The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a historic £3 million per year investment to upgrade and expand toilet facilities across Transport for London’s (TfL) network. This initiative, part of the “Equity in Motion” campaign, aims to make London’s transport system more accessible and inclusive for all passengers.
As part of this investment, TfL plans to introduce new, free-to-use accessible toilets while continuing the refurbishment of existing facilities. The goal is to ensure that passengers are never more than 20 minutes away from a toilet, allowing them to remain on their route without changing trains.
To identify the most strategic locations for new toilet facilities, TfL collaborated with customers, campaigners, and staff, focusing on high-footfall areas, terminus stations, night service stations, and those with step-free access. Key locations selected for new toilets include Camden Road, Clapton, New Cross Gate, South Tottenham, and White Hart Lane Overground stations, as well as Morden and Hammersmith Underground stations.
Additionally, TfL will be converting non-accessible toilets at Amersham, Green Park, and Sudbury Hill Underground stations, and Seven Sisters Overground station into accessible facilities during the first phase of the project. Construction for these upgrades is set to begin within the next year, pending detailed assessments.
Sadiq Khan highlighted the impact of this initiative, stating, “Toilet provision is critical for many Londoners and visitors, and can even determine whether somebody travels on public transport at all. That’s why I’m planning to make the biggest ever investment to increase toilet provision across TfL services and boost accessibility.”
TfL’s ongoing efforts to improve cleaning standards have already enhanced toilet facilities at over one-third of London Underground stations with toilet access. Currently, there are toilets available at 145 TfL-managed sites, plus an additional 40 toilets at stations on the network not directly managed by TfL. To aid passengers further, TfL has released a ‘Toilet Tube Map,’ detailing all available facilities, including baby changing areas and wheelchair-accessible toilets.
Andy Lord, London Transport Commissioner, emphasized the importance of the project: “Access to toilets is important for all customers when using public transport, but is a vital enabler for some, especially older customers, people with disabilities, and those with young children.”
The initiative has also garnered support from community advocates. John McGeachy, campaigns manager at Age UK London, commented on the impact of accessible public toilets, stating, “One in five people do not leave home as much as they would like to, because of consideration around a lack of public toilets – it’s called the ‘loo leash’. Better provision can transform lives.”
With this initiative, London aims to set a new standard for public transport accessibility, making travel easier and more inclusive for residents and visitors alike.
More news from Amersham
