The Accessible Travel Framework

Going Further was the first national Accessible Travel Framework for Scotland. It was created in 2016 from conversations between disabled people, their representatives and people who work in transport across Scotland, 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.

View Going Further: Scotland’s Accessible Travel Framework.

We know that accessible travel can enable people to enjoy equal access to full citizenship. The conversations previously were about identifying and removing disabling barriers which prevent people travelling or make their journey an unpleasant experience. This is about more than travel, and includes access to vital services such as employment, education, and healthcare.

The Framework provides a national vision and outcomes for accessible travel. The vision is that “All disabled people can travel with the same freedom, choice, dignity and opportunity as other citizens.”

This vision is supported by four outcomes;

  • more disabled people make successful door-to-door journeys, more often;
  • disabled people are more involved in the design, development and improvement of transport policies, services and infrastructure;
  • everyone involved in delivering transport information, services and infrastructure will help to enable disabled people to travel; and
  • disabled people feel comfortable and safe using public transport – this includes being free from hate crime, bullying and harassment when travelling.

Why we still need an Accessible Travel Framework

Over 20% of people in Scotland identify as disabled. Access to travel is essential for maintaining a society where disabled people, including those with hidden disabilities, are protected from discrimination, have equal opportunities and can participate in employment, healthcare, education, social, leisure and cultural activities.

The transport system should be available, accessible and affordable for all. When this Delivery Plan refers to accessibility this should be taken to mean accessibility in its widest sense, ensuring that all disabled people feel able and safe to travel.

Employment is an important aspect of travel needs of disabled people. Our public transport system should support people to remain in work and seek or gain employment. This in turn should reduce the disability employment gap, deliver a more equal and inclusive society and enable sustainable economic growth.

Figures from the latest edition of Disability and Transport report show that disabled people tend to make fewer journeys than non-disabled people (an average of 1.54 journeys per day vs 1.96) and, on average, their journeys are shorter in distance (3.2km vs 4.4km). Disabled adults are more likely to use the bus than non-disabled adults (9% of journeys vs 6%), less likely to drive (43% vs 54%), and more likely to be a car-passenger (17% vs 11%).

View Disability and Transport 2021.

Some of the biggest differences between disabled and non-disabled people were that disabled people were slightly less positive about their experiences on buses and trains. The area where the difference was highest was whether individuals felt ‘safe and secure on the [bus or train] in the evening’ (59% of disabled people agreed they felt safe on the bus compared to 74% of non-disabled people). Another notable difference was regarding whether individuals felt that it was ‘easy to change from bus to other transport’ (64% of disabled people agreed, compared with 76% of non-disabled people).

While there have been changes and improvements since the ATF was launched in 2016, there is still a considerable way to go. Much of the work of implementing the ATF, is around changing attitudes, behaviours, cultures and removing barriers. This should be seen as a continuous ongoing process to embed new behaviours and ensure disabled peoples voices continue to be heard, to influence policy and service design. There will of course be progress indicators and measures of change that we will continue to develop and monitor. These indicators need to be both qualitative and quantitative.

Our ongoing engagement with disabled people and Disabled People’s Organisations has highlighted that there are many concerns around access to transport, including transport to health, transport to seek and retain employment, availability of accessible taxi services, challenges of transferring between modes, challenges around the first and last mile of any journey and safety during travel. The need for ongoing disability awareness and disability equality training of transport staff has also been identified in several forums, including that disabled people need to be involved in the development and delivery of training.

Scotland’s Access Panels

Access Panels are groups of disabled people who volunteer their time to improve the accessibility of their local area for disabled people. There are currently 35 Access Panels across Scotland which operate under Disability Equality Scotland as an umbrella body. This Delivery Plan recognises the important role played by Scotland’s Access Panels and will look for opportunities to use their experience and expertise to make travel more accessible.

View further information on Access Panels.

DES Evaluation report

A review of the progress of the Accessible Travel Framework (ATF), was commissioned by Transport Scotland, and conducted by Disability Equality Scotland (DES) between August 2022 and March 2023, and was published in December 2023. It evaluates the performance of the ATF seven years on from its launch in 2016.

View DES: Accessible Travel Framework: Evaluation Research Project Report.

The scope of this review was to:

  1. Assess the current monitoring and evaluation arrangements.
  2. Gather valuable feedback as evidence and a vital resource.
  3. Develop a richer and more up-to-date understanding of the priorities of disabled people traveling in Scotland currently.
  4. Reflect on how the work of the framework could be monitored in the future.

The review was supported by a short life project working group comprised of DES, MACS and Transport Scotland’s Accessible Travel and Research, Statistics and Evaluation teams. The review has used the lived experience and testimony of disabled people in Scotland, to consider the impact, priorities, and changes to the experiences of travel in Scotland, through the implementation of the ATF.

While there are some positive developments noted over the span of the ATF, the 16 findings (listed in Annex B); 31 recommendations and 6 key recommendations set out a number of areas for change and further development across the ATF.

Some of the key findings highlight the need to:

  • Improve collaboration and accountability to support ATF delivery.
  • Improve data collection to track progress and improve understanding of travel experience.
  • Consider that disabled people often do not experience the different components and challenges of the transport system in isolation, but that these can be interlinked.
  • Enhance and seek to roll out passenger assistance and staff training across all transport modes.
  • Recognise that it takes time to effect change across larger stakeholders.

The six key recommendations are that:

  1. There should be improvements in the quantity and quality of data collection in relation to disabled passenger experiences.
  2. Co-production, consultation and open dialogue between TS, transport providers and Disabled People’s Organisations should be ensured for future delivery plans.
  3. All travel modes should be supported to continue to improve passenger assistance services.
  4. A rural “Accessible Taxi Services” plan should be developed to address the specific barriers disabled people face when trying to access taxis.
  5. All members of staff working in accessible travel should receive disability equality training.
  6. Inclusive communication should be prioritised for all delivery projects.

Transport Scotland acknowledges these six recommendations. This delivery plan, and the work of the accessible travel team, includes steps to consider these recommendations. We will also seek to monitor whether there is improvement in these areas. Some aspects of delivery and legislative competence related to the recommendations are out with what Transport Scotland can deliver. However, we will seek to change what is within our scope and seek to engage across wider policy areas and to influence and promote spend on accessibility.

Many of the issues in the DES report were also identified by a report by Transport for All: Are we there yet? Barriers to transport for disabled people in 2023, the scope of which was trips made in England.

The DES evaluation report has influenced the content and direction of this delivery plan, and the new approach that Transport Scotland is taking to delivery and oversight. This is set out in further detail in the New Approach section.

Current Status of Accessible Travel

Since the publication of the Accessible Travel Framework in 2016 there has been progress in a number of areas. In addition, there are areas which have increased attention and focus, or new projects, which were not considered in the ATF.

Developments include:

  • From December 2023 local authorities have been able to enforce the law banning pavement parking.
  • Funding under the UK Access for All programme is improving accessibility at Scotland’s railway stations with step-free access at 31 Scottish stations by March 2024.
  • In 2023, new UK legislation came into force to require the provision of real-time audible and visible information on buses informing of the route, next stop, and diversions consistently for disabled people.
  • Transport Scotland continues to support the Hate Crime Charter through funding Disability Equality Scotland for training for transport staff and promotional materials.
  • Living Streets’ bus stop bypass report – this will be subject to careful consideration as to how the recommendations will be taken forward and resulting updates to Cycling by Design guidance.
  • Active and sustainable travel is an area of increasing focus and interest, with the need to ensure that any new developments are as accessible as possible. Many journeys begin or end with a portion of walking or wheeling so understanding what barriers there are to walking and wheeling, and how to remove these will be explored as part of the Clear Pathways workstream and as we explore what will succeed the Accessible Travel Framework.
  • Clyde Metro will be a transformative project for the Glasgow City Region. In recognition of the step change in accessibility that the Metro can provide, the project will embed accessibility considerations from the outset and will work collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders including MACS to achieve this.

Where Accessible Travel fits into the wider policy context

Accessibility and inclusion are at the heart of the National Transport Strategy sitting within the "Reduces Inequalities" priority. This priority sets out that we will provide fair access to services which will be easy to use and affordable to all.

Scotland’s Accessible Travel Framework was designed to work alongside the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The purpose of the convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. The general obligations of the convention include requiring states to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability, to provide accessible information and to promote training of professionals and staff working with persons with disabilities.

View Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Equality Act 2010 ("Equality Act") provides a legal framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all. Section 149 places a duty on public authorities, and others who exercise public functions, to have due regard to the need to:

  • eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited under the 2010 Act;
  • advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a protected characteristic and those who do not;
  • and to foster good relations between persons who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

This is known as the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).

New Approach for Delivery and Monitoring

Conclusions from the DES Evaluation Report, and from ongoing engagement with stakeholders is that there was a need to improve the delivery and the monitoring of impact of the Accessible Travel Framework (ATF). This has led to the development of a new approach. This new approach will encompass all current and future Transport Scotland led (and Scottish Government where relevant) project work on accessible travel in Scotland until the end of the ATF in 2026. It will also pave the way for what lies beyond that timeline.

Work is now organised into 7 broad themes as set out in the New Priorities section. Transport Scotland has also instigated an internal Delivery Board to provide corporate oversight, leadership and direction of the ATF. This delivery board reports to a new Strategic Board which brings together Transport Scotland and external stakeholders to provide increased governance and act to address barriers to progress.

The four outcomes set out in the Accessible Travel Framework still remain valid. The new approach will help to address these outcomes.

Outcome 1: More disabled people make successful door-to-door journeys, more often.

Outcome 2: Disabled people are more involved in the design, development, and improvement of transport policies, services, and infrastructure.

Outcome 3: Everyone involved in delivering transport information, services and infrastructure will help to enable disabled people to travel.

Outcome 4: Disabled people feel comfortable and safe using public transport – this includes being free from hate crime, bullying and harassment when travelling.

48 issues were originally identified in the ATF. Many of these remain relevant. These are listed in Annex A.