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Involving Children and Young People in Transport Planning

Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor of London are committed to providing transport which meets the needs of all Londoners, including children and young people living and travelling in London. To this end, they are developing a Children and Young People's Action Plan. Transport for London wants to hear the views of children and young people to help them develop this plan and find out how to enable children and young people to participate in giving their feedback on transport services.

Children and young people are a priority work area for the London Health Commission and meeting the needs of children and young people means addressing barriers to travel. Research to date suggests that children and young people experience:

• Physical inaccessibility
• Lack of affordability
• Lack of personal security
• Negative perceptions of personal security
• Lack of safety

In addition to the travel benefits of involvement in this process, those children and young people in school have linked the project to the requirements of the 'Citizenship' section of the National Curriculum.

Groups of children and young people (with the help of parents and teachers) made video recordings and took notes on their journeys around London. The children and young people involved ranged from toddlers to eighteen. Girls and boys, disabled children, refugees and asylum seekers and children from black and minority ethnic groups were involved. The videos show some of the best and the worst things about travelling in London. The final edited video of their work was premiered on 6th February 2003 at City Hall.

As well as the video, on the day Pip Heskith (TfL) answered questions from the children and young people. There was also interactive games and competitions, a chance to check out TfLs facilities for young people to respond and give comments on how they could be made more user friendly, and an opportunity to practise buying tickets and travel passes from uniformed staff.

For further information, contact:
Lesley Murray - Transport for London
Simon Buxton - Transport for London