Disabled Persons Passenger Charter For All Public Transport

The UK Government has teamed up with disability charity Scope to create a new Disabled Persons Passenger Charter for bus, coach, taxi, private hire vehicle and rail.

The charter is being created to help all passengers travel with confidence and provide a one-stop shop for advice for disabled passengers.

The charter will make clear the rights of disabled people to ensure they can travel easily and more confidently. This brings together the Government's National Disability Strategy unveiled last year with a range of initiatives to improve the experience for disabled travellers.

Wendy Morton, Accessibility Minister said: "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 suggest that passengers who travel frequently are faced with a multitude of documents about their rights, which can be unclear. Once developed, it will be published one-stop shop on passenger rights and complaints procedures.

Our Nikki who has a few hidden disabilities said: "It can be a bit hit and miss using disabled services when travelling. Sometimes, I get forgotten when assistance has been booked on trains and have had horrendous coach journeys, with drivers not recognising that I am disabled as my disability is not a visible one."

The UK Government is committed to making our network more inclusive and to making travel easier for disabled people. The first step has been taken with an evaluation report of progress against out Inclusive Transport Strategy 2018 and will be incorporating evidence from disabled people on their transport experiences.

Mark Hodgkinson, Scope Chief Executive said: "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 next network and how to hold providers to account when travel goes wrong."

This report will help shape future changes and build a fairer system for everyone and we look forward to hearing their findings.