Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group and chair of the London Assembly transport committee, commenting on the announcement that manual boarding ramps on the Tube which were introduced during the London 2012 Games at 16 Tube stations will now be kept and extended to more stations, said:
“This announcement is incredibly welcome and something I have long supported. It is only right that this much needed commitment to improving access to the Tube has been made in a week when it was confirmed that London would host the 2017 Paralympic Athletics World Championships.
“2013 must see dramatic improvements in access to the Tube. It is vital that manual boarding ramps are quickly extended to a further 17 stations which supposedly have ‘step free access', but where in practice a gap exists between the platform and trains.”