Evaluation of the Blind Companion Rail Travel Pilot

In line with Transport Scotland’s guidance of the evaluation of rail projects, a baseline study (which was carried out ahead of the launch of the pilot) and a follow-up study (which was carried out while the pilot was underway) were undertaken.

In order to assess the extent to which the objectives of the pilot have been achieved, the evaluation sought to measure the following:

  • Has companion travel become more affordable?
  • Has rail travel become more accessible for NEC eye +1 cardholders?
  • Do NEC eye +1 cardholders feel more confident to use rail services?
  • Are NEC eye +1 cardholders more likely to use rail services?

Limited ScotRail data is generated by cardholders who tap their NEC to open ticket barriers at gated stations. However, due to limitations with this data and a lack of ticketing data (explained more in a subsequent section), the evaluation relied on primary research with NEC eye +1 holders.

Methodology

Two studies were carried out as part of the evaluation. Both aimed to explore the four evaluation questions (see above), and in doing so considered the following themes:

  • access and barriers to the pilot scheme
  • travel behaviour:
  • frequency of rail travel
  • frequency of rail travel with a companion
  • barriers to rail travel
  • impacts of the scheme
  • changes to use of passenger assistance during the pilot
  • changes in travel behaviours due during the pilot
  • perceived impacts of the pilot on areas such as travel costs, confidence while travelling and accessibility
  • any differences according to age, sex and local authority area.

Both the baseline and follow-up studies consisted of a survey and focus groups with cardholders. They were delivered by Transport Scotland working in partnership with Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans (herein included in references to Sight Scotland), in addition to ScotRail.

Self-selecting sampling methods were utilised for both surveys (further detail provided below). As such, the results are not generalisable or representative of the wider NEC eye + 1 cardholder population and instead only pertain to those who participated in the research. Therefore, throughout this report, the findings are ascribed to the survey respondents and focus groups participants rather than NEC eye +1 cardholders in general.

Surveys

Two surveys were conducted as part of this evaluation, one prior to the launch of the pilot to provide a baseline, and another while the pilot was underway. Both surveys were for current NEC eye + 1 cardholders with no quotas for particular population groups of respondents.

The surveys were intended for cardholders aged 16 and over. If a cardholder aged under 16 wished to participate, a parent or guardian was asked to complete the survey(s) on their behalf. Informed consent was obtained from participants as part of the survey questionnaires. The baseline and follow-survey questionnaires, and additional data tables can be provided on request by contacting Transport Scotland at blindcompanionsurvey@transport.gov.scot.

Baseline

The baseline survey was conducted between 1 and 28 February 2025, and was available as an online and postal survey. A self-selecting sampling approach was utilised, with the online survey disseminated through Transport Scotland, Sight Scotland and ScotRail. The postal component was distributed by Sight Scotland to people who subscribed to their quarterly magazine “The Bugle”. Over 1,000 people received postal surveys as part of this distribution.

The survey received 297 responses with 214 respondents being eligible cardholders after the initial screening questions. Of those, 153 (72%) completed the survey online and 61 (28%) completed the postal survey.

The baseline survey asked respondents about their eligibility for the scheme, rail travel behaviours and attitudes, and anticipated impacts of the scheme. Survey respondents were asked to provide their age group and the local authority area they lived in.

Follow-up survey

The follow-up survey was conducted between 1 and 30 September 2025 and was available as an online survey with postal surveys provided on request. The survey took a purposive sampling approach. Information about the pilot scheme and the evaluation survey was sent to all eligible cardholders (approx. 8,000) in the form of a letter. This letter was drafted by Transport Scotland and distributed by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO), who administer the NEC scheme. It included a link and QR code to complete the survey online as well as information for how to request a postal survey. NECPO securely shared the email addresses of approx. 2,000 cardholders who had provided an email address upon application or renewal of their NEC with Transport Scotland to enable emails to be sent about the pilot and survey. This was compliant with GDPR and NECPO’s privacy policy. The different sampling approach from the baseline reflects that access to the NEC database was not available when the baseline was conducted. This approach was utilised for the follow-up survey to inform people of the pilot scheme and to maximise participation in the survey.

Due to the different sampling approaches, the follow-up survey received a much higher response; 1,528 responses in total, of which, 1,482 were holders of the required NEC and therefore eligible for the free companion scheme. The vast majority of these respondents completed the survey online with only a small number completing the postal survey. A small number of telephone surveys were also conducted where requested to ensure the survey was accessible to those who wished to take part.

The follow-up survey asked respondents about their eligibility for the scheme, rail travel behaviours and attitudes, use of the scheme and perceived impacts of the scheme. The survey also collected demographic data on respondents’ sex and age, as well which local authority area they lived in.

Focus groups

Focus groups were carried out as part of the baseline and follow-up studies. The focus groups looked to gain a more in depth understanding of participants’ experiences and opinions regarding rail travel and use/or anticipated use of the scheme. Focus groups participants were organised and ran by Sight Scotland.

Three focus groups were conducted for the baseline study. These were held on the 7th, 11th and 12th of February 2025 with 20 participants in total. Two of these were in-person at Sight Scotland centres and one was online via a video call platform with five participants.

For the follow-up study, two focus groups were carried out on the 29th and 30th September 2025 at Sight Scotland centres with 13 participants.

Analysis, reporting and limitations

Due to the sampling methods used for both surveys, the results of this research are not fully representative of the wider NEC eye + 1 cardholder population and instead only pertain to those who completed the survey. Throughout this report, survey findings are presented where applicable but methodological differences mean that the findings are not directly comparable. No statistical testing has been conducted and differences between groups of respondents may reflect sample variability.

The surveys implemented question routing to ensure respondents were only asked relevant questions. As such, the base number for each question is not always the same as the total number of respondents. This is included in the tables and charts throughout the report. Multiple choice questions do not sum to the total number of respondents. In addition, some percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.

Some of the survey findings involve small response numbers, particularly for the baseline survey which had a smaller achieved sample size. Consequently, some reporting for the baseline survey focuses on the frequency of responses with percentages provided where appropriate to aid interpretation and provide context. Small numbers have not been suppressed as the base number for each question was deemed sufficient to report on the findings and applying suppression would result in several questions having to be omitted from the reporting. However, caution should be taken when inferring findings from questions or response options with small base numbers.

In the baseline survey, a question was included on the anticipated impact of the scheme in relation to a number of aspects. The topic of safety and accessibility was erroneously only included in the postal survey, therefore the base number for this response option is lower than the other topics asked about.

The surveys included a small number of open questions which were analysed and coded thematically to capture emerging topics and issues.

Findings from the focus groups are incorporated in the report where relevant and are intended to supplement the survey findings. As is typical with small scale qualitative research, the findings from the focus groups relate only to those who participated and are not generalisable.

As noted earlier, there is some data collected by ScotRail which is generated by cardholders who tap their NEC to open ticket barriers at gated stations. However, this is limited as the majority of stations are not gated and there are instances where cardholders are waved through ticket gates without the need to tap their card. Hence, this data was not included in the evaluation due to issues around the robustness and quality of this data. Similarly, no ticket or journey information was available from ScotRail to support the evaluation as this data is not routinely collected beyond the limited gate line data mentioned.

The lack of journey data and the survey methodology meant the evaluation does not have findings pertaining to cardholder journeys beyond the questions asked in the survey. For example, the evaluation did not explore where people travel to/from, costs of journeys and number of journeys made under the pilot scheme.

Finally, the evaluation did explore incorporating data from the Office for Rail and Road (ORR) on the use of Passenger Assistance, as the ORR publishes statistics on the number of pre-booked and turn and go assists. Whilst this data is available for ScotRail managed stations, it only covers Passenger Assistance overall and it is not possible to look at the type of assistance booked. Therefore the data was not included in the evaluation.