Access to transportation for disabled people has been called “national embarrassment” by lawmakers on parliamentary committees, and he said a new enforcement regime is needed to maintain the right to travel.
A report from the Commons Transport Select Committee highlighted the experiences of people with disabilities using UK transport services, from accounts of wheelchair users left on planes to taxi drivers who refuse guide dogs, or taxi drivers who are unable to navigate pavement blocked by interference.
The report says that in some areas access to services has been reversed since the community pandemic. More than two-thirds of respondents with disabilities to the committee's appeal for evidence stated that they encountered the problem using either “always” or “most of the time”, with fewer than 2% saying they had never experienced a travel disability.
More than half said they regularly decided against traveling because they expected to face difficulties in their travels.
Many reported that from designated wheelchair spaces on buses to passenger assistance for train services, they were clearly being introduced.
Lawmakers said that while anti-discrimination laws should theoretically work, the reality was very different. The committee sought a review of all relevant laws and enforcement authority powers and resources across all types of transportation.
Committee chair Ruth Cadbury said: “Our country's transportation services should be a source of embarrassment for citizens effectively treating people with disabilities as second-class citizens, denying access to employment, leisure, support networks and essential services and denying their rights.
Still, those who are disappointed and hoping for relief or compensation are faced with the spaghetti junction of the complaint process that either drives them away or leads them on the path nowhere.
“Failure must disappear from disappearing from everyday events. In reforms to transport services through this Congress, the government must ensure that those with access needs are invisible, unprecedented and unknown.
The report emphasized that accessibility for people with disabilities should be perceived as a human right across transport systems and not merely as a customer service issue, but as discrimination. “There is a need for a change in mindset at all levels between providers, regulators and enforcers.”
Lawmakers have found that people with disabilities leave too much burden when they file complaints or seek relief at their own expense. They urged that a unified, user-friendly complaint service should be established within 12 months to cover all modes of transport.
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Among the witnesses on the committee was Tanni Gray Thompson, a former Paralympic wheelchair racer. He said:
Gray Thompson was forced to drag himself out of the Kings Cross train when staff failed to support.
The Transportation spokesman division said: “It is clear that accessibility is an afterthought in the development of transportation services, and there is something to do to make it easy for everyone to travel with dignity.
“We work closely with a variety of people, including people with disabilities, to help develop our policy, and we will carefully consider these recommendations and respond as quickly as possible.”
