Tube and bus crash survivors accuse TfL of failing passengers as 40 a month injured in London

Victims of Tube and autobus crashes person accused Transport for London and Mayor Sadiq Khan of not doing capable to guarantee rider safety.

They called for Government involution “to guarantee TfL addresses information issues and reports superior incidents much openly” – and said the Office for National Statistics should reappraisal the mode TfL publishes information data.

They judge that lessons are not being learned from akin incidents – and that galore different “near misses” are near to spell nether the radar.

A full of 86 radical died oregon were earnestly injured successful autobus collisions betwixt January and March this year, and 68 betwixt April and June.

“These are not one-off isolated freak events. They’re symptomatic of a breached system. Somebody other could beryllium earnestly injured oregon killed. To my horror, it’s happened again and again and again.”

According to TfL, the fig of “platform bid interface (PTI) incidents” crossed the Underground roseate to 1,941 successful 2023, up astir 500 connected the fig successful 2016.

Last year’s full included 261 “falls betwixt level and train”. Of these, 2 were classed arsenic “serious”, down from a highest of 34 superior injuries successful 2019 – though the explanation of what constituted a superior wounded was tightened successful 2020.

On average, 21 radical a period are progressive successful a PTI. These see falls from the platform, falls betwixt the bid and the platform, interaction betwixt a idiosyncratic and a bid and being caught successful oregon struck by bid doors, besides known arsenic “trap and resistance incidents”.

Ms de Lagarde said: “We started paying attraction and joining the dots and the large representation is terrifying.”

She accused TfL of “victim blaming”, being antiaircraft and showing a “lack of empathy oregon understanding”. She added: “I’m inactive waiting for an apology from Sadiq Khan.”

The campaigners claimed that London had a worse grounds connected autobus information than cities specified arsenic New York, Paris and Montreal.

Sally Sivas, adjacent of kin of Catherine Finnegan, known by her household arsenic Kathleen, said Mr Khan had said successful an interview: “I person nary concerns astir safety.”

She said: “That operation was said by Sadiq Khan connected January 30. Kathleen Finnegan was killed by a London autobus astatine Victoria presumption connected January 29.

“Kathleen had lone conscionable been killed the erstwhile day. This was a ridiculous and insensitive connection for the seat of TfL to make.

“Safety is not their apical priority, arsenic galore adjacent misses spell unreported. TfL indispensable recognise their failings and the request for change.”

She said: “No-one from TfL contacted my household and Metroline [the autobus institution involved] refused to talk to maine astatine all.”

The archetypal idiosyncratic to accidental “sorry” to her was Boris Johnson successful 2014, erstwhile she met the past politician astatine an lawsuit for amputees. She launched the Sarah Hope Line successful 2016 but said TfL had stopped promoting it.

“I don’t recognize wherefore truthful fewer radical who are injured oregon bereaved by TfL activities person assistance from the Sarah Hope Line,” she said.

She said Mr Khan, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and the Government needed to recognise that roadworthy deaths were “just arsenic traumatic, abrupt and convulsive arsenic weapon transgression and home violence”.

Thomas Jervis, a spouse astatine Leigh Day, said: “My clients are profoundly acrophobic by these figures which amusement a important emergence successful the fig of deaths and superior injuries connected the transport web successful London.

“They are present calling connected the authorities to measurement successful to guarantee TfL takes urgent enactment to amended information and supply overmuch greater transparency successful the reporting and presumption of information astir superior incidents involving passengers.”

Mr Khan told the Standard: “I raised this with TfL’s absorption squad yesterday, and determination cannot beryllium a concern wherever determination appears to beryllium oregon determination is unfortunate blaming, anybody wounded utilizing nationalist transport crossed London.

“I privation to apologise if immoderate household feels that way, immoderate of it for bully reason, by the way, they consciousness that mode - that shouldn't happen. The [TfL] commissioner himself has apologised for that.

“So we've got to marque definite we improve. At the aforesaid time, erstwhile things bash spell wrong, we can't, we mustn't and we ne'er should, victim-blame.”

TfL said astir 4 cardinal journeys were made each weekday connected the Tube, and insisted: “The information of our unit and customers is our apical precedence and the Tube is recognised arsenic 1 of the safest metros astir the world.”

It said cameras were being improved to springiness Tube drivers a clearer presumption of passengers connected platforms, and enactment had been carried retired to trim immoderate gaps betwixt the bid and platform.

In addition, level announcements and ‘Mind the Gap’ signs were utilized to item imaginable risks.

TfL’s Vision Zero people is to destruct roadworthy deaths by 2041. As an interim target, it for cipher to beryllium killed connected oregon by a autobus by 2030.

Lilli Matson, TfL's main safety, wellness and situation officer, said: “Our thoughts stay with each of those impacted by nonaccomplishment of beingness and wounded connected the transport network. Every decease and superior incidental connected the transport web is devastating and we person enactment disposable for those affected.

“We are committed to learning from each incidental and usage a rigorous evidence-based attack to this, utilizing information and incidental reports to enactment successful spot changes done targeted programmes that marque the transport web safer for everyone.

“Accurate reporting and transparency are a captious portion of our industry-leading attack to information and we are committed to making information publically available, including done our website.

“We recognise that superior incidents connected the web should ne'er hap and we are determined to code this by listening to the experiences of those who are affected and taking due enactment to support radical safe.”