Mayor urged to keep Tube access ramps at 16 stations

Sixteen stations have been made accessible to wheelchair users for the first time by the temporary ramps.

But disabled passengers could once again be locked out if the ramps are removed after the Games, charity Transport for All warned.

The ramps cost between £265 and £510 each with installation costing up to £1,030, a Freedom of Information request revealed.

Campaigners have written to London Mayor Boris Johnson urging him to keep the existing ramps and install them in 30 more stations which they believe could be made accessible.

Transport for All campaigns co-ordinator Lianna Etkind pointed out that many disabled Londoners will be using their local station for the first time ever thanks to the ramps.

She said: "It would be ludicrous for TfL to spend thousands on installing the ramps only to rip them out again afterwards.

"Londoners deserve a legacy of accessible transport beyond the Games. Boris, please don't turn back the clock on access to London."

Wheelchair user Zara Todd has been able to use her local station Morden for the first time because of the ramps.

She said: "For me the ramps are revolutionary because they enable me to reduce the time I spend commuting by a third and use stations that I've lived near for my whole life and never been able to use independently."

TfL has said that "if the ramps prove popular" it will "look at" how their use can be extended.

willstone@peoples-press.com