Is public transport accessible for disabled people?

Tori_Scope
Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,447 Championing
in Everyday life

'it's everyone's journey'

Taken from the 'it's everyone's journey' government campaign webpage:
'it’s everyone’s journey’ brings together those who want to improve public transport for disabled people and deliver real change. It has been developed by the Department for Transport in partnership with industry, disability groups and disabled people.
Disabled people travel up to a third less than non-disabled people. This has an impact on access to employment, healthcare, education and social activities. Barriers to public transport are not limited to reliability and the physical infrastructure but also include the attitudes and behaviours of staff and fellow passengers.

If everyone using public transport takes small steps to be mindful of their fellow passengers, we can all make transport more inclusive.

Accessible versions of our videos can be found on YouTube.
The pandemic has seen many changes to how we live and as we return to transport things may be a little different. New rules and systems may bring challenges for some people.

Transport operators are playing their part to keep us all safe and we’re asking everyone to do their bit and be a little more patient with each other. Small changes can make a #WorldOfDifference

Not everyone can wear a face covering due to medical exemptions and remember that not all disability is visible.
Be patient and prepared to help, but always ask first.

If you would like to follow the campaign’s progress sign up to our newsletter.

Join the conversation by sharing case studies and your stories which demonstrate how a little consideration can go a really long way.

Support for disabled people using public transport

Related news

New Passenger Assistance app

A new Passenger Assistance app has been launched to help disabled rail passengers travel with confidence (Rail Advent). Regarding the app, Scope's Head of Policy and Campaigns said:
“The current booking process is something disabled people have told us stands in the way of them using the rail network, so it’s great to see rail operators improving the assistance booking system. This app should play an important role in simplifying the process making the assistance people need to travel much easier to book. We hope this app is the first step on a journey that will see disabled people turn up and travel whenever they want.”

#WorldOfDifference

Taken from entertainment-focus.com:
As we emerge from lockdown to some semblance of normality, comedian Rosie Jones has joined forces with a coalition of influencers, disability charities, transport operators and the Department for Transport (DfT) to call on passengers to rethink old travel habits and help create a more inclusive transport environment for everyone.

This week, an open letter has been published to that effect.

The letter, signed by a range of influencers, is supported by charities including Scope, Leonard Cheshire and the Royal National Institute of Blind People, and is backed by many of the country’s biggest transport providers.

It asks the public to show consideration to fellow passengers and to be more mindful of the needs of others, highlighting ways in which we can all nurture a culture of support.

The signatories of the open letter have also drawn on their own experiences, with further suggestions as to how we can all be mindful of the needs of others while travelling sharing ‘One Request’ that would make a #WorldOfDifference to their journeys across social media this week as part of the [it's everyone's journey] campaign launch.

What's your experience of travelling on public transport? What would make a #worldofdifference to you when travelling? Will you be using the Passenger Assistance app? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!

Comments

  • Tori_Scope
    Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,447 Championing
    It was delayed, but it has now been launched. Doug has been tweeting about it, but I'm not sure if there's an update on the legal action he said he'd take. 

    Article on the Disability News Service about this for those that didn't catch it.
  • MrFooseball20
    MrFooseball20 Community member Posts: 4 Listener
    During the pandemic I was still working in an office having started a new job unfortunately I was assaulted because I wasn’t wearing a mask even though I was exempt, I was also subject to verbal abuse and assaulted because I had a sunflower lanyard on. 

    In addition to this transport staff were very ignorant of the fact that I have hidden disability and also the fact that I work within the transport industry, on a number of occasions staff were rude and abusive to me which meant I had to change my commute to work meant my journey to work was extensively longer than what I was permitted to travel, it’s even make me think about leaving my current job and asking to be relocated.

    as someone who is deemed as vulnerable but also a key worker within the transport industry I am disgusted is how I’ve been treated by my fellow colleagues not just within my company but also within the transfer industry in general, people who have the sunflower lanyard have been subject to abuse both in person and online, sunflower lanyards game is also been abused for a pandemic nothing has been done to prevent this, as such I stopped wearing my sunflower lanyard a long time ago after my second incident where I was assaulted.
  • Ross_Alumni
    Ross_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,611 Championing
    Hello @MrFooseball20

    I'm sorry to read about what you've had to go through, that sounds horrific. When those incidents happened, did you report them at all?

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