This report explores the roles and responsibilities of accessible transport staff in local government – staff whose jobs have a specific focus on accessibility, or who are in positions that include accessibility as a key responsibility.
We looked at how disability and accessibility featured in the personal backgrounds, education, training and day to day practices of accessible transport staff.
Short form Word format
Large print Word format
To produce this report we conducted:
- An evidence review of existing studies about local government accessible transport staff and other jobs.
- A survey of 422 disabled people.
- A survey of 42 accessible transport staff.
- A focus group and a series of interviews with nine accessible transport staff.
- A policy roundtable with local and regional authority leaders and disabled people, disabled people’s organisations and other stakeholders to discuss the findings and recommendations from the research.
Disabled people and accessible transport staff agree that making local streets accessible should be the top priority in efforts to make sure transport is accessible for all.
Transport staff feel that collaborating with stakeholders – including disabled people – is a vital part of their roles but do not have enough time to do this effectively.
Local governments often fail to meet their legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 because they do not allocate enough funding to compliance efforts.
Most staff have some training on accessibility, but the quality of such training varies widely.
Involving disabled people in decision making is vital to improving outcomes for disabled people.
National government
Develop and maintain a national website where disabled people and transport professionals can find and understand regulations, guidance, case law and other resources relevant to making transport accessible.
Promote a public awareness campaign to highlight the impact disabled office holders can make on public policy and the importance of making sure disabled people are represented at the highest levels of decision making.
Local government
Work with Disabled People’s Organisations to develop guidance on how local governments can coproduce with disabled people.
Conduct capability and capacity assessments in relation to accessibility and disability inclusion to identify current strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
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Use and share these findings to inform future research in conjunction with priorities identified through the voices and experiences of disabled people.
Work with partners and stakeholders to make these findings available to robustly evidence the issues faced by disabled people when accessing transport.
Work with policy makers, transport providers, and industry, to translate these findings to influence future policy and develop solutions that reduce the transport accessibility gap.
How can I access the report?
A full report, is available, along with a highlights version which has been translated into BSL and Easy Read versions.
An accessible pdf version, along with a short form word document and a large print word document are also available.
Our Full Report here contains all the report findings, including appendices and references. Browse the options and access the version that works best for you.