Transport

We all need to get from A to B, whether for work, leisure or simply for everyday living. For disabled people, difficulties with transport in and around our local area are the number one concern. Going further afield, for example by train, plane or ferry often means planning ahead for weeks. If the transport system fails at any point, the result is often anxiety, frustration and disappointment – or a ruined holiday!

Our access to education, employment, healthcare, shopping, social, and family life is significantly improved when journeys become accessible.

A Which? Survey in 1990 found that 4 out of 5 disabled people interviewed had problems with transport and two-thirds said that difficulty with using public transport was one reason for not going out more and not travelling further afield (Consumers’ Association: 1990).

Transport means using:

• the pedestrian environment ( for example bus stations, train stations and the routes between them),
• buses & coaches
• trains, trams, tubes
• taxis,
• community and door to door transport,
• private cars, hire vehicles,
• planes,
• ferries

The main barriers to accessible transport are:

• Journey Information - information is often provided in inaccessible formats, arranged in a way that is difficult for some people to understand, and not readily available both before and during the journey
• Poor design of transport vehicles has until recently excluded many disabled people from trains, buses, planes, taxis, tubes and ferries
• Poor design of the built environment – for example station concourses or ticket offices – exclude disabled people who need to use the service
• Staff who operate transport services often don’t understand what we require as disabled people – for example how to know when to offer assistance and how to talk to us. Some transport services, for example train stations, often have no staff at all.
• Cost – there are often hidden charges to public transport services, for example, taxi firms may charge more for helping a wheelchair-user, or a train company may charge a high rate for phone information about accessible services. Disabled people should not be charged extra for an accessible service.

Disability Wales wants the transport industry in Wales to make its services fully inclusive and accessible for disabled people, and will challenge cases of discrimination. We will also encourage and applaud transport planners and providers when they get things right. We are currently developing a comprehensive transport policy. 

We also regularly liaise with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee.