MPs on the Commons Transport Committee are calling for transport to be made more accessible for people with disabilities, saying that accessibility for disabled people must be recognised as a human right rather than ‘nice to have’. Failures should be seen as discrimination, not merely as a customer service problem, and a change of approach is needed by operators, regulators and enforcers.

A new report is spelling out the gaps in provision, from accounts of wheelchair users left on planes for hours, to taxi drivers refusing lifts to people because they have an assistance dog, and street clutter causing obstructions.

The Committee considered 825 responses to a survey, finding that 67 per cent of disabled people, or those who assist them, encounter problems ‘always’ or ‘most of the time’, with only 1.7 per cent saying they never experienced problemss when travelling. A further 50.8 per cent said that they would decide against making a journey at least once a month because they expected to face difficulties.

The report makes several recommendations, including the need to reform regulations, legal duties and enforcement bodies, because at the moment the position is far too fragmented and complex. The law should work in theory but the reality is very different, and a review of all relevant legislation and the powers and resources of enforcement bodies is needed, for all transport modes. It said this review should assess whether a single enforcement body would be more effective.

Committee xhair Ruth Cadbury said: ‘It should be a source of national embarrassment that our country’s transport services effectively treat disabled people as second class citizens, denying them access to jobs, leisure, support networks and essential services – denying them their rights.

‘This inquiry worked on the premise that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their condition or difference, and that services should be designed to enable disabled people to travel independently, not reliant on others. After all, services that work for disabled people also work better for everyone.

‘And yet, those who have been let down and want redress or compensation face a spaghetti junction of complaints processes that either fob them off or lead them on a road to nowhere. Even when complaints are resolved, lessons aren’t learnt, changes aren’t put in place, and it’s tempting to think that the small and occasional penalties for failure are accepted by providers as a mere cost of doing business.  

‘Failures must go from being an everyday occurrence to vanishingly rare. In its reforms to transport services over this Parliament, the Government must ensure people with access needs no longer go unseen, unheard and unacknowledged. This should be underpinned with a new inclusive transport strategy, backed by long-term funding.

‘We would like to thank the many charities, experts, campaigners – including disabled people who have lived with inadequate services – for giving evidence to this Committee and its predecessor before the general election. We look forward to working constructively with the Government and tracking its progress over the coming years.’

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