Accessible transport: shaping mobility solutions and inclusive policies

Clive Gilbert

Head of Accessible Transport, Policy Connect

Marion Fellows

Member of Parliament for Motherwell and Wishaw,
Commissioner on the Accessible Transport Policy Commission

Disabled people make 38% fewer journeys than non-disabled people — a phenomenon the accessible transport charity Motability Foundation has called the accessible transport gap.

One in five disabled people are unable to travel due to a lack of suitable transport options. When they do, journeys tend to take longer and be strewn with obstacles. This has led to the accessible transport gap.

Eliminating barriers to accessible transport

The Accessible Transport Policy Commission heard that one key to making it easier for disabled people to travel is to ensure their voices are at the heart of decision-making in transport organisations and policymaking.

The Commission is a new cross-party initiative chaired by former Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and vice chairs from across both Houses of Parliament (including Marion Fellows MP, one of the co-authors of this article). It is part of the National Centre for Accessible Transport, which was set up earlier this year to eliminate barriers to travel — with a £20 million grant from the Motability Foundation.

Key to making it easier for disabled people to travel is to ensure their voices are at the heart of decision-making in transport organisations and policymaking.

Initiatives and addressing the accessible transport gap

Chaired by Marion Fellows MP, our meeting in November brought together disabled transport professionals and users to discuss the importance of lived experiences to making journeys more inclusive.

This has been codified in the UK at the highest levels of decision-making for decades. In 1985, an act of Parliament created the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee to advise the Secretary of State for Transport.

Brighton and Hove Buses and Metrobus are also pioneering work to set up the first dedicated accessibility support role to be established at a UK bus operator. However, strained public finances, the emergence of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and events such as the pandemic are leading to upheavals across the transport sector that are threatening to drown out the voices of disabled people.

Help shape accessible transport policies

The National Centre for Accessible Transport is working to put disabled people at the heart of transport decision-making. By combining expertise in inclusive product design, engineering, industry innovation and engagement as well as public policy, the Centre aims to amplify disabled people’s experiences and insights.

We are inviting disabled people across the UK to join our new Community of Accessible Transport. Members of the Community will be offered opportunities to shape the Centre’s research and take part in other projects with industry and policymakers to create solutions to the problems they face.