TfL accidents not all unique, crash victims say

Crashes on the capital's transport network "are not all unique, as Transport for London would like us to believe", the friend of a woman who was killed by a bus has told the BBC.

Sally Sivas is one of three people directly affected by the issue who are calling for an improved safety response.

Her friend Catherine Finnegan, known by her family as Kathleen, died in January after being hit by a double-decker bus at Victoria Station. Transport for London (TfL) said that 158 people were killed or seriously injured by a London bus in the 2023-24 period.

Claire Mann, TfL's chief operating officer, said the transport network was "safe" and the organisation would learn from "every single incident".

Catherine Finnegan's family were left "devastated" by her death, her friend said

Ms Finnegan, 56, was hit by a double-decker bus at Victoria Bus Station on 29 January.

Three weeks after her death, TfL had still not contacted her family.

"It's completely devastated her family," said Ms Sivas, who is Ms Finnegan's next of kin.

"These accidents are not all unique, as Transport for London would like us to believe.

"Accurate post-collision investigation and learning must take place to improve bus safety and inform the industry and the public."

Sarah de Lagarde, who lost two limbs on the London Underground, says she is "terrified" when her children go on a bus, train or Tube

Joining the call for safety improvements were Sarah de Lagarde and Sarah Hope.

Ms de Lagarde's right arm and right leg were amputated after she was run over by two Tube trains in High Barnet in September 2022.

She has issued a legal claim at the High Court against TfL.

Ms Hope was seriously injured in a bus crash in Richmond, south-west London, in 2007.

It killed her mother Elizabeth Panton, 65, and her two-year-old Pollyanna had to have her leg amputated below the knee.

Ms Hope said the first time she received an apology over the crash that killed her mother was in 2014, seven years on.

Sarah Hope says "everything was chaos" after what happened

"No-one from TfL contacted my family," she said, describing the first five years after the crash as "horrendous".

"Everything was chaos," she said. "Life had changed forever.

"We were thrown into a world we knew nothing about: personal injury law, police investigations, inquests - not to mention the criminal trial.

"All the while trying to grieve for my mother, who was beautiful, kind to everyone she knew and loved by so many people."

The three women are calling for:

• Urgent government intervention to establish an independent safety review

• A statutory duty of candour to be introduced for TfL

• Increased transparency in the reporting and presentation of data by TfL when individuals are killed or injured on the network

Ms de Lagarde said: "You're not as safe as you think you are, when you are travelling on the London Underground.

"I have two children... I am terrified for their safety every time they go on train, go on a Tube, go on a bus.

"It is imperative that these actions are taken to ensure the safety and transparency of transportation services in London."

'Not acceptable'

Thomas Jervis, from Leigh Day, the law firm that represents Ms de Lagarde and the family of Ms Finnegan, said: "My clients believe they have been treated very poorly by TfL since the devastating incidents in which they were severely injured or lost a loved one.

"They are now calling on the government to step in."

The Department for Transport declined to comment.

Between January and the beginning of May 2024, 59 falls between the train and the platform were recorded on the London Underground network, a Freedom of Information request conducted by Leigh Day revealed.

None resulted in serious injury or death.

In 2023, two people were seriously injured after falling between the train and a platform out of 261 reported incidents.

'Working day and night'

TfL's Ms Mann said: "Our thoughts are with all of the families affected through either loss or injury on the transport network.

"It's not acceptable that people have to go through such devastating circumstances. Every single [incident] is one too many.

"It's really important that we learn lessons from incidents that occur and we reach out to families to understand their perspectives.

"London transport is safe. It's a very well understood system that we're working with day and night to try and make improvements on."