Changes to transport during the pandemic have had a serious impact on Disabled people. Disability Rights UK has studied the transport focus report on Covid and transport and has noted some serious issues which we will be pushing for resolution on:
*Train and bus companies need to ensure that passengers better understand and follow rules on face covering exemptions
*Disabled passengers often feel ‘trapped’ and unsupported in an enclosed space with limited ventilation or realistic opportunity to leave if they feel unsafe. Travel assistance must be more clearly available.
*Cleaning standards must become a norm once transport recovers – historic standards have not been high enough.
*Operators must improve the quality and availability of information about how busy services are expected to be and where disability seating or spaces are located.
*There is a need for new, cheaper, simpler and easier-to-buy tickets that will suit the way passengers expect to travel in future and, when the time is right, help to rebuild passenger numbers and revenue.
Disability Rights UK’s Rail Policy Advisor, Stephen Brookes said: “these will be part of the rebuilding of confidence to travel. Otherwise we will see an increase in isolation in some areas for Disabled people.”