Driving Forward to Promote Passenger Accessibility
Accessibility challenges and ways of tackling them were voiced at a round-table forum with transport chiefs.
Harrogate-based charity Disability Action Yorkshire organised the event to allow disabled passengers to express their concerns about their daily travel challenges and regional operators to outline their plans to improve accessibility.
Jeremy Dunsford, a member of Ripon Disability Forum, said: “There’s no doubt that travel across the region can be somewhat of a ‘hit and miss’ experience. The key thing is connectivity. Operators need to work closely together to use information in an intelligent way, so the entire passenger journey runs smoothly and seamlessly.”
In response Darren Allsopp, Stakeholder Manager at Northern, said: “We certainly recognise the importance of connectivity and I firmly believe things are getting better. For example, train operators are working more closely with bus operators and it’s only a matter of time before passengers will start to see the improvements which are vital for a seamless journey.”
One attendee expressed concern that whilst she regularly travelled to London on business with no challenges, the journey was the opposite when she travelled with her 13-year-old disabled son. She said there had been times when there was no support getting him onto and off trains, and the pair were once stranded when the train terminated before its original planned destination.
Richard Isaac, Community Manager (Eastern Area) at Northern, extended an invitation to her and her son to meet representatives from Northern to address her concerns.
Transport operators at the event – chaired by Harrogate & Ripon MP Andrew Jones – included Vincent Hodder, CEO at Leeds Bradford Airport; Charlie Woodhead, Accessibility & Integrated Travel Manager at LNER; Darren Allsopp, Stakeholder Manager at Northern; Richard Isaac, Community Manager (Eastern Area) at Northern; Henri Rohard, Managing Director at Transdev; Gareth Bentley, Licensing Manager at North Yorkshire County Council; and Paul Thompson, Assistant Director at North Yorkshire County Council.
All the operators recognised the impact and importance of accessible travel.
Henri Rohard said: “We provide a vital service to many people across the district, but accessibility is something we need to work on and improve. We need to understand where ‘touch points’ aren’t working with our customers. We have some ‘quick wins’ planned and then over the longer term we’re starting to invest in new buses.”
Vincent Hodder explained what changes have been made at Leeds Bradford Airport since he took the helm three years ago. He commented: “When I arrived, the airport had suffered from a lack of investment over a long period of time which resulted in reduced accessibility and poor infrastructure. It’s essential that the passenger journey is the same experience for everyone, with the same rights and benefits.
“In summer 2022, the Civil Aviation Authority assessed the airport as ‘poor’ for people with reduced mobility. By the following year, this had improved to ‘very good.’ We’ve invested heavily in better quality escalators, lower tables in the security area to make it easier for travellers to collect their belongings once they’ve passed through the scanners, and improved stair climbing equipment.
“We’ll continue to challenge ourselves to get as good as we possibly can, and we take very seriously our obligation to ensure passengers have the journey they want to have.”
Darren Allsopp said: “Everyone travelling on the railways should have the same accessibility. We want this to happen now, but it’ll take time and money. For example, out of our stock of 947 vehicles, we’ve identified 550 which we’ll need to replace by 2032.”
Meanwhile Gareth Bentley explained how North Yorkshire County Council is currently undertaking an Inclusive Survey Plan (ISP) to assess how accessibility can be improved for taxi users.
He said: “We know there’s an issue with accessibility. There’s no easy solution but we’ll bring all the different parties together to do everything we can to improve things. We’re 100% behind trying to resolve the issue. For example, we’ve recently introduced a new training programme for drivers.”
Closing the event Andrew Jones – a former Parliamentary Under-Secretary-Of-State For Transport – said: “This has been an extremely lively and valuable forum. There are many things to take away and I sincerely hope the dialogue will continue between all parties concerned to ensure the important issue of passenger accessibility remains at the top of the transport agenda.”
Jackie Snape, Disability Action Yorkshire’s CEO, added: “The experience of disabled people travelling on public transport is an ongoing issue and one which we focus on in a lot of our activities across the region. I’m extremely grateful that the travel operators have taken time out of their busy schedules to join us for what has been an extremely useful and constructive discussion.”
Established in 1937, Disability Action Yorkshire (DAY) is a charity and social enterprise providing services which create opportunities for disabled people to live the lifestyle of their choosing. For further information, please visit www.disabilityactionyorkshire.org.uk.
