15.11.17
Rail needs to do ‘much more’ to improve assistance for disabled people
Much more needs to be done to improve the reliability, consistency and awareness of assistance available to rail passengers, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has said.
Research by the regulator has found that 12% of passengers who booked assisted travel services did not receive any of the assistance that they had booked.
There were examples of staff not arriving to help the traveller, and reports of instances where staff were unable to relate to their needs.
The ORR is calling for rail companies to do more to increase awareness of the help that is available to passengers, and to improve its reliability, with better training for staff.
The research did find that most people who used Assisted Travel services were mostly satisfied with their experience.
Of those who pre-booked assistance, 85% of passengers were satisfied or very satisfied with the service, and 71% of passengers who received assistance without booking would recommend it.
However, when asked, over 50% of disabled passengers did not know that the Assisted Travel service was available.
The ORR wants to enhance its monitoring to see how well rail companies are meeting their obligations and to hold them to account for any poor performance.
Stephanie Tobyn, deputy director of consumers at the ORR, said: “When travel assistance works as intended, passengers find it a good service, but clearly more needs to be done to make it more reliable and consistent.
“A growing number of people with disabilities are travelling by train, and we want to make rail travel easier and more straightforward for them.
“That’s why we’ve carried out this research and identified where the service can be strengthened.
“We’re looking forward to working with industry and passenger groups to make improvements to this important service.”
Top image: Scacciamosche
Have you got a story to tell? Would you like to become an RTM columnist? If so, click here.