Government teams with charity Scope on Disabled Persons Passenger Charter

January 19, 2022

The government has joined with disability charity Scope to develop a new Disabled Persons Passenger Charter for bus, coach, taxi, private hire vehicle and rail.

Providing a clear explanation of their rights, the charter aims to improve journeys for disabled people by helping ensure they can travel easily and more confidently.

It will bring together a host of information for disabled passengers travelling across England and advice for passengers on what to do when things do not go as expected.

The charter follows last year’s unveiling of the government’s National Disability Strategy – a range of initiatives to improve journeys for disabled people including:

• an accessibility audit of all rail stations

• clearer audible and visual announcements on buses

• introducing legislation for taxis and private hire vehicles in Parliament

• £1 million to improve access at seaports.

Wendy Morton, Accessibility Minister, said: “I am delighted that we will be partnering with Scope to develop a charter for disabled passengers that will help boost confidence across our road and rail network.

“This practical guide will pull together disabled passengers’ rights so they understand how they can get from A to B with the dignity and ease they deserve.”

Scope research suggests that passengers who travel frequently are faced with a multitude of documents about their rights, which can be unclear. Acting on this feedback, the charter will collate existing information for passengers and centralise it into one coherent and easy-to-use format.

Once developed, it will be published online, providing a one-stop shop on passenger rights and complaints procedures.

Mark Hodgkinson, Scope Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to work with the Department for Transport to develop a Passenger Charter. Thousands of Scope supporters have backed calls for this vital step towards transforming a system that sometimes makes travel unnecessarily hard, if not impossible, if you are disabled.

“Public transport should be accessible for everyone and this charter will help disabled passengers better understand their rights, the standards they should expect across the network and how to hold providers to account when travel goes wrong.”

 

This is valid as of 19th January 2022.

 

Sign-up to the Barbour Monthly Newsletter

Get the latest Health, Safety and Environmental news and information – sign up for updates from Barbour EHS. Computer monitor What you’ll get:
  • Free downloads including Directors’ Briefings, legislation updates, webinars, risk assessments and more
  • VIP invites to events
  • Important industry news and updates
  • Invitations to hot topic webinars hosted by Barbour
  • Industry partner information
[ssba-buttons]

You May Also Be Interested In

Comments are closed.

✉ Sign up to the Barbour Newsletter

Free downloads, advance notice of webinars, product updates and perks – all straight to your inbox.

  • Barbour EHS may from time to time send updates about Barbour products and services. By providing your contact information you consent to being contacted for direct marketing purposes by Barbour EHS. Please ensure you review our Privacy Policy.