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TfL staff are often known for singing a Christmas song over the tannoy during the festive season to cheer up weary commuters. Or, just like that one employee at Piccadilly Circus station, cracking uplifting jokes on the platform. But rarely will you hear a TfL employee go into detail about the semantics of post-war Britain over the intercom. Well, TfL has launched a new diversity and inclusion guide to make sure that its staff aren’t saying anything out of line. After all, the last thing TfL wants is to get cancelled.
In the guide, TfL employees are encouraged to use gender-neutral language ‘where possible’, including saying ‘staffed’ rather than ‘manned’, ‘everyone’ instead of ‘ladies and gentlemen’, and ‘they’ over ‘he/she’. TfL has also warned employees against using the term ‘transsexual’ and to only use terms such as ‘gay’, ‘bisexual’ and ‘transgender’ only as adjectives not nouns. Pretty basic stuff nowadays in big old grown-up 2022, right?
Other banned terms include using ‘older’ instead of ‘elderly’.
Some of the new language guidelines do feel a bit weirdly OTT, though. Staff are urged to ‘avoid referring to conflicts by name if possible’. So, for example, to say ‘late 1940s’ instead of ‘post-World War II’. It’s not clear in what context this might come up. Maybe ‘The 19.39 to New Cross is delayed and is now expected in the late 19.40s.’ The word ‘accident’ has also been advised against, with the word ‘collision’ being recommended as a replacement.
A TfL spokesperson said: ‘We provide editorial guidance, developed with key stakeholder groups, so that customer information uses consistent language to make sure it is easily understood. Many of the terms within the guide have been this way for more than a decade and are in line with the wider transport industry.’
Ooh… London is only the SIXTH worst city in the world for commuters.
Take a first look inside the shiny new revamp of Battersea Power Station.