A blue badge designed to make travelling easier for people who find it difficult to stand has been officially launched by Transport for London today, following a trial last year.
The blue ‘Please Offer Me a Seat’ badge is available to disabled passengers and those with hidden conditions, illnesses and injuries, to help them find a seat on public transport. The badge, and accompanying card have been created following requests from customers who can struggle to get a seat when their need to sit is not immediately obvious.
Findings from a study carried out by TfL suggest that people perceive the entitlement to priority seating is based on visible conditions:
- Pregnant women: 93%
- Older customers: 93%
- Customers with a less visible mobile impairment: 59%
- Customers with learning difficulties: 46%
- Customers with a hidden illness: 44%
In order to reduce stress levels and increase the chance of obtaining a seat, people who are in need of a seat often use a number of personal strategies, such as travelling at off-peak times and taking a longer route to avoid stressful situations
A six week trial with 1,200 people was held in autumn last year to test the new badge and card. More than 72 percent of journeys were found to be easier as a result of the badge, and 98 percent of people taking part in the trial said they would recommend it to somebody who needed it.
The free badge and card is now available through the TfL website.
TfL will not ask customers requesting the badge or card for their medical history or supporting evidence from a doctor, and says that issuing the badges will be on trust, as it currently does with the Baby badges that TfL also issues.
TfL’s Baby on Board badge launched in 2005 to help pregnant women get a seat on public transport and TfL now issues around 130,000 Baby on Board badges a year.
