Individual response from Ken Livingstone 19 th May 2004

[Read the BTA letter of 5 April 2004 ...]
[Read the GLA response of 19 April 2004 ...]

Dear Richard

Thank you for your letter of the 5 April.

Any fully accessible service should include the provision of well-maintained toilets. London Underground (LU) currently has 93 stations with toilet facilities some of which are currently non-operational. Under the terms of the PPP contract LU’s Infrasco partners must open those that are closed and maintain them in a good operational order. Transport for London has also been reviewing the programme of station modernisation to investigate where toilet facilities can be provided at stations that currently do not have these facilities. Toilet facilities at smaller stations, which are locked because of the threat of vandalism, should be kept open and TfL will be looking at ways to protect them.

The situation for TfL has been made worse because so many public authorities have withdrawn public toilet facilities. I believe that this is not an appropriate action and has caused great difficulties for many people, in particular those with incontinence problems. Public authorities should have a duty to provide a satisfactory level of public toilet provision.

Yours sincerely

Ken Livingstone
Mayor of London

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