Transport for London (TfL) recently ran a competition for London children to design a poster that would encourage travellers on Transport for London services to give up their seat for those who need it more.

Today, Tuesday, 3rd December, is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and the winning posters designed by young Londoners that encourage people to give up their seats for those who need them more can now be seen across the Transport for London network.

All buses, Tubes, trains, and trams on the Transport for London network have priority seats that are clearly marked, as well as seats for those with non-visible disabilities.

The competition was launched during Priority Seating Week last September.

Children aged 6-14 were invited to design a poster that raises awareness of the priority seats and encourages people to look up and offer their seats to someone who may need them more.

Entries were judged by five members of Transport for London’s Independent Disability Advisory Group (IDAG), which is a panel of 13 professional experts that helps Transport for London to have a better understanding of the impact its policies, projects, and programmes will have on disabled customers.

The winning designs came from Cecilia Lewis (age 8), Lily Watkins (age 11), and Ayaan Hoque (age 13), who all won family tickets to Merlin London attractions. In assessing their entries, the judges were impressed by Cecilia’s eye-catching design that encourages kindness, Lily’s poster about non-visible health conditions, and Ayaan’s wise words about how uplifting others makes us strong.

The runners-up were Diani Dodia, Georgina Joseph, and Ayah Abrahams, and Harrison Steele, Willow Bear, and Sophia Croall were highly commended. Although not winning the competition, their designs impressed the judges, and they all won tickets for a ride on the IFS Cloud Cable Car or entry to the London Transport Museum.

Transport for London ran the competition as part of its wider efforts to make the transport network fairer and more inclusive, and complements progress made through its Equity in Motion plan.

Earlier this year, Transport for London held a Priority Seating Week, and launched a six-month trial to make travel on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) more accessible by allowing customers who need assistance to book it before they travel, either over the phone or online. That trial has now been extended until April to allow more time to gather feedback.

“We were extremely impressed by the thoughtfulness and creativity that shone through every poster design we received, and I know that our Independent Disability Advisory Group had a very hard time choosing just a few winners from the colourful and inspiring selection of entries! It was wonderful to see the children’s awareness of the diverse range of needs amongst us all and their clear reminder that looking up and offering someone a seat can make a huge difference to their journey – a great message for us all.”

Mark Evers, Transport for London’s Chief Customer Officer