LONDON: Transport for London (TfL) staff will stop saying ‘ladies and gentlemen’ when greeting passengers and should instead use inclusive words like “good morning everyone” to make passengers feel more welcome.
All new pre-recorded announcements at the London Underground will also be changed to use the new phrases, TfL said.
“We want everyone to feel welcome on our transport network,” said Mark Evers, director of customer strategy at TfL.
“We have reviewed the language that we use in announcements and elsewhere and will make sure that it is fully inclusive, reflecting the great diversity of London.”
The change of phrases follows similar moves in other companies, universities and schools across the country to use gender-neutral language.
London mayor Sadiq Khan welcomed the move, after he expressed concern last month that some customers did not feel comfortable about how certain station announcements were made.
“I am keen that TfL addresses these concerns by speaking in a more neutral way when referring to gender,” he said.
“TfL has made a commitment to transition from gender-specific phrases like ‘ladies and gentlemen’ which are currently used in announcements, to a gender-neutral alternative such as ‘good morning/good afternoon everyone”.
TfL said it had told staff about the use of the new phrases, but that “from time-to-time, well-meaning staff may still use the term “ladies and gentlemen”.
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London Underground to ditch ‘ladies and gentlemen’ for gender-neutral greeting
London Underground to ditch ‘ladies and gentlemen’ for gender-neutral greeting
Carney denies claim he walked back Davos speech in Trump call
- Carney’s speech last week in Davos urged middle powers to break their reliance on US economic influence
- Trump told Carney to watch his words as “Canada lives because of the United States”
TORONTO: Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday denied a claim that he walked back his speech at the World Economic Forum denouncing US global leadership in a subsequent call with President Donald Trump.
Carney’s speech last week in Davos, which captured global attention, said the rules-based international order led by the United States for decades was enduring a “rupture” and urged middle powers to break their reliance on US economic influence, which Washington was partly using as “coercion.”
The speech angered Trump, who told Carney to watch his words as “Canada lives because of the United States.”
Speaking to Fox News on Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: “I was in the Oval with the president today. He spoke to Prime Minister Carney, who was very aggressively walking back some of the very unfortunate remarks he made at Davos.”
Carney told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday that Bessent was incorrect.
“To be absolutely clear, and I said this to the president, I meant what I said in Davos,” he said.
Carney reiterated that Canada “was the first country to understand the change in US trade policy that (Trump) had initiated, and we’re responding to that.”
Carney told reporters that Trump initiated the Monday call, which touched on issues ranging from Arctic security, Ukraine and Venezuela.
Carney’s speech last week in Davos, which captured global attention, said the rules-based international order led by the United States for decades was enduring a “rupture” and urged middle powers to break their reliance on US economic influence, which Washington was partly using as “coercion.”
The speech angered Trump, who told Carney to watch his words as “Canada lives because of the United States.”
Speaking to Fox News on Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: “I was in the Oval with the president today. He spoke to Prime Minister Carney, who was very aggressively walking back some of the very unfortunate remarks he made at Davos.”
Carney told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday that Bessent was incorrect.
“To be absolutely clear, and I said this to the president, I meant what I said in Davos,” he said.
Carney reiterated that Canada “was the first country to understand the change in US trade policy that (Trump) had initiated, and we’re responding to that.”
Carney told reporters that Trump initiated the Monday call, which touched on issues ranging from Arctic security, Ukraine and Venezuela.
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