Transport for London Releases New Map to Make Travel Easier for People With Anxiety

For many people living with anxiety, using public transport like crowded subways and undergrounds can be difficult. On Wednesday, Transport for London (TfL), London’s transportation department, released a new map of the London Underground designed to help those living with claustrophobia or anxiety.

Our new #TunnelMap can help you plan a more comfortable journey if tunnels make you anxious. Download one here – https://t.co/rcjbJL45V4 pic.twitter.com/28Tww1ArAc

— Transport for London (@TfL) July 5, 2017

The new map specifies which sections and stations of the Tube are underground and highlights routes customers can use to avoid them. More than half of the Tube’s 270 stations are above ground with only the Victoria Line and Waterloo and City line wholly underground. Up until now, there was no definitive way to tell which stations were completely enclosed unless you were familiar with the underground network.

“Making the Tube network accessible for everyone is one of our top priorities,” TfL director of customer strategy Mark Evers told The Telegraph. “This new map is just one of the tools we have created in response to feedback from our customers on how we can make the transport network more accessible, making traveling easier and more comfortable for all our customers.”

“This new map is an excellent resource for those wishing to avoid journeys where there are tunnels; serving as a great pre-journey planning aid and increasing access to public transport,” Nicky Lidbetter, Anxiety UK’s‘s chief executive, added in a statement.

The map follows other TfL initiatives designed to improve the Tube’s accessibility such as badges for expectant mothers and those with hidden health conditions who would benefit from sitting down during their commute.

The Mighty has reached out to Transport for London for a comment and has yet to hear back.