Transport for London to bring Youth Panel members into meetings

Starting later this month, Transport for London will be welcoming a member of their Youth Panel to attend and contribute to, their quarterly Safety, Sustainability and Human Resources Panel (SSHRP) and Customer Service and Operational Performance Panel (CSOPP) meetings.

The independent Youth Panel was created in 2009 and is made up of around 30 volunteers, aged 16 to 25. Two of those volunteers (one for the SSHRP and another for the CSOPP) will be representing the 30 TfL Youth Panel members to review papers in advance of the meetings and formulate questions and suggestions they wish to put to TfL leaders and panel members.

Ho-Kit Lam, 20, has been appointed to represent the Youth Panel at the SSHRP meetings. The first panel representative for the CSOPP meetings will selected later this month. Both appointed members to represent the Youth Panel for a year before passing on to another member.

Ho-Kit Lam, said: ‘As a young Londoner, I have seen how diverse our communities are. We are looking forward to working with TfL’s senior leaders to make London more inclusive and give a chance for all to decide on how London will be safer, greener and more sustainable in the future.’

TfL were prompted to originally set up the panel having recognised that more than 30% of the capital’s population is under 25 years old, with around 2.6 million young people living in Greater London and rising all the time. 

The Youth Panel executive committee directs the work of the panel. They speak on behalf of their fellow panel members and suggest projects and campaigns for the panel to work on. 

The committee’s structure mirrors TfL priorities by having has a committee member responsible for each of the 3 areas of safety, sustainability, and inclusion.

Last autumn, following 12 months’ research, the Panel published an independent report titled: Tomorrow’s TfL: The Youth Panel’s vision for the future. This set out nine policy recommendations on how TfL and the Mayor of London can make transport in London more sustainable and inclusive, including Youth Panel representation at senior meetings.

Lilli Matson, TfL’s Chief Health, Safety and Environment Officer, said: ‘To help ensure London thrives and we have a transport network that is safe, green, connected, affordable and accessible to all we must listen to the views of young people. This is why having young voices represented at our senior meetings, where we plan policies and initiatives to improve London’s transport network is so vital.’