Described as 'Tripadvisor for the disabled community', the Snowball app, used worldwide, helps users find and review restaurants, shops, and other businesses and services based on accessibility.
Those using public transport in London will now find an extra boon on the app, because it's just incorporated open access TfL data, to feature stations with step-free access. A 'traffic light' system — devised by Snowball founder, Simon Sansome, a wheelchair user whose team has visited every station in London — divvies stations into one of three categories:
- Green: Fully accessible, no assistance needed
- Amber: Partially accessible, requiring additional staff assistance or portable ramps
- Red: Not accessible for wheelchair users
Says Sansome: "Our goal is to make London more navigable for everyone, regardless of their physical abilities. By highlighting step-free stations and introducing our traffic light system, we aim to remove barriers and promote inclusivity across the city's transportation network."
93 of the 272 London Underground stations currently have step-free access; that may sound like a lot without — and it is — but TfL says it is constantly working to update the stations, some of which are extremely old, to make them suitable for people with accessibility needs. Knightsbridge station, for example — which originally opened in 1906 — very recently gained step-free access, thanks to the installation of three lifts.
