Now that we have an updated tube map, I thought it would be interesting to count up the blobs and see how much of the tube map is accessible. And the answer is 45%.
I haven't calculated perfectly accurately, because counting blobs on a map is tricky, and what precisely is a station anyway? But here's how I worked it out.
There are approximately 440 stations on the tube map. About 60% are Underground stations, so I'm going to start with those, and then add on additional bits of the network bit by bit.
If you just consider Underground stations, which is how the tube map started out, then only 28% of the 270 stations are step-free. Approximately speaking, 40 stations have blue blobs, 35 stations have white blobs, and 195 stations have no blob at all. Upgrading a 100+ year-old network is logistically difficult and very expensive.
Next to arrive on the tube map was the DLR. The DLR is 100% accessible throughout, hurrah, because it was planned that way. This adds another 39 stations to the map, all with blue blobs. If you consider tube and DLR stations together, then the proportion of step-free stations on the tube map leaps to 37%.
Next to arrive on the tube map was the Overground. The Overground adds another 80 stations to the map, approximately 50% of which have step-free access. That's a pretty good average for a mishmash of a network, although almost all its blobs are white, not blue. If you consider tube, DLR and Overground stations together, then the proportion of step-free stations on the tube map rises to 40%.
Next to arrive on the tube map was the Dangleway. This adds two accessible terminals, but isn't enough to tweak the overall step-free percentage, which remains at 40%.
Next to arrive on the tube map was TfL Rail. When Crossrail replaces it, 100% of the stations will be accessible, but in the meantime it's less than half. If you consider tube, DLR, Overground and TfL Rail stations together, then the proportion of step-free stations on the tube map remains at 40%.
The most recent arrival on the tube map was Tramlink. Every single tram stop is accessible, hurrah, and this adds an extra 38 blue blob locations. If you consider tube, DLR, Overground and TfL Rail stations and Tram stops together, then the proportion of step-free stations on the tube map rises to 45%. And that's where we are today.
By the end of the decade, another eight tube stations will be at least partly accessible. That'll get us to 47%. Plus Crossrail will be all over the map, adding a further 24 blobs, and this'll finally hit the magic 50% mark. Hang on in there, the half-accessible tube map is on its way.
