Executive Summary
Background
This review of the progress of the Accessible Travel Framework (ATF), was commissioned by Transport Scotland, and conducted between August 2022 and March 2023.
The ATF was originally published in 2016, with the framework based on consultation between key stakeholders, including disabled people, Disabled Peoples Organisation’s (DPO), transport providers and Transport Scotland. The Framework was co-produced by the Accessible Travel Framework (ATS) Steering Group, with the purpose of supporting disabled people’s rights by removing barriers and improving access to travel and ensuring disabled people are fully involved in work to improve all aspects of travel.
Removing Barriers
Accessible travel can enable disabled people to enjoy equal access to full citizenship. Therefore, the original conversations held, were about identifying, and removing barriers which prevented disabled people travelling, or which served to make their journey an unpleasant experience. It was recognised that the project was about more than transport, and included access to vital services such as employment, education, and healthcare.
The role of this review was to:
- develop an understanding of the monitoring and evaluation work of the ATF.
- use the valuable feedback and data that DES gathered as evidence and a vital resource.
- develop a richer and more up-to-date understanding of the priorities of disabled people traveling in Scotland currently and.
- reflect on how the work of the framework could be monitored in the future and consider how it is currently being monitored, evaluated, and reported on.
The review has been informed and guided, via active engagement and consultation, with both the team at Transport Scotland, and externally via a short life project working group.
Unashamedly, this review has used the lived experience and testimony of disabled people in Scotland, to consider the impact, priorities, and changes to experiences of travel in Scotland, through the implementation of the ATF.
External impacts
This review acknowledges that the Covid-19 pandemic had - and continues to have - a profound and lasting impact on the aims and work packages relating to the ATF.
This is reflected in travel trends throughout the pandemic and indeed up until more recently, the Disability and Transport Survey shows that travel usage has not gone back to its pre-pandemic levels for disabled people traveling in Scotland (across all modes of transport).
It is also crucial to consider that there have been a variety of significant changes to the landscape of travel and transport since the ATF was first drafted and published in 2016, including: industrial action; a cost-of-living crisis; and staff shortages. Some of these recent shifts in the social landscape are reflected in the recent National Transport Strategy 2 (2020).
Additionally, it should be realised that disabled persons' Human Rights - with specificity to accessibility, though also more broadly - is made complex by the shared legislative environment of Scotland's position within the United Kingdom.
Recommendations
It is proposed that this review’s recommendations be considered in preparation for Transport Scotland’s next delivery plan.
A summary of the key recommendations arising from the Accessible Travel Framework, Evaluation Research Project (2023), are contained in an appendix to this paper.
However, there are some general, thematic topics airing out of these recommendations, including:
Consultation and data
The review found that there was a general lack of information available concerning the ATF for it to consider. Therefore, there is a need to improve the quantity, quality, timing, and scheduling of data collection within the area of disabled travel.
Any information gathered should directly relate to indicators of progress of the ATF and should be both quantitative and qualitive in nature – and to include a lived experience perspective.
Future planning
There have been a number of consultation respondents identifying that future annual Transport Scotland delivery plans should distribute priorities and actions equally across all six areas of the ATF.
These future priorities and actions should link clearly to the original areas identified in the ATF to enable effective monitoring. Future delivery plans should have a clear set of indicators – based on a SMART objectives approach - and be communicated publicly.
Stakeholders
The review recognises that Transport Scotland cannot deliver the ATF in isolation and must work in partnership with a variety of stakeholders.
Therefore, co-production, consultation, and open dialogue between Transport Scotland, transport providers, and DPOs should be conducted throughout the creation of the delivery plan, identification of the key performance indicators (KPI’s) and the process of delivery.
Communication
In order to further support disabled people, the ATF should prioritise inclusive communication for all delivery projects and look to extend support to transport providers in order to provide inclusive formats for transport-related communication surveys.
Additionally, the Accessible Travel Hub should be used and enhanced as a central resource for disabled people and a point of contact.
Training and development
Consultation feedback has identified that all members of customer-facing transport staff working within accessible travel should receive disability equality training, delivered by disabled people. This training should be further cascaded to additional members of staff supporting those in customer-facing roles.
This would support the continuation of improvement to passenger assistance services across all modes of transport.
Emerging/Future priorities
The review has also recognised emerging issues associated with transport, in particular: active and sustainable travel; and clear pathways.
There are additional issues – whilst not necessarily new – are certainly becoming more relevant, including accessible taxi services.
Accessible Travel Framework progression
The recommendations contained in this review aim to provide proposals and guidance on how to move forwards with the work of the ATF in closing the mobility gap and working towards accessible transport for all.
The review raised concerns about some of the potential risks which need to be considered throughout the remaining lifespan of the ATF including:
- Continued gaps in knowledge and understanding through failure to achieve concordance with transport providers.
- Length of time taken to effect changes across larger stakeholders.
- Staff lacking knowledge or authority to accommodate or make reasonable adjustment.
- Failure to collaborate systematically.
- Failure of accountability mechanisms.
Overall, there is a need for a shift in approach and language of project documents, moving away from progress or completion, to progress and on-going development/continuation, in consultation with disabled people and DPOs.
Providing accessible travel to all disabled people across Scotland and continuously working collaboratively on this aim will be an on-going body of work. The aim of project documents such as the ATF should be to guide, augment and provide markers for the direction of this on-going work.
This shift in ethos will be paramount to the development of the new ATF and other project documents moving forward within the work of closing the mobility gap in Scotland.
Lived experience and independence
Finally, one of the original purposes of the ATF was to “support disabled people’s rights by removing barriers and improving access to travel.”
Consultation participants have reinforced that travel accessibility to them is about choice. Therefore, moving forward, offering disabled people as much choice as possible - to ensure they can participate as it suits them - would allow for further autonomy within the experience of travel.
Transport services, travel support and assistance which allow individual disabled people to travel independently - without the need for a companion, or without having to notify members of staff – would be viewed as a true success for the ATF and a significant improvement for disabled people.