Skip To Navigation Skip To Content
Colour mode:
Home > News > Charities call upon Prime Minister to secure public transport accessibility
News

Charities call upon Prime Minister to secure public transport accessibility

Cat Whitehouse
Head of Communications and Engagement

Transport and disabled people’s charities are calling for a meeting with the Prime Minister to secure urgent accessibility changes to public transport to prevent harm to disabled people.

Three disabled people of different colours and sexes sit and stand in a busy railway station. The first is a Black male with clipped hair, using a wheelchair, he has a limb difference. The second is a White woman with long brown hair and glasses, she is standing with her hand on her hip. The last is a south-east Asian man with glasses, he is using a wheelchair. They are all gazing firmly and determinedly towards the camera.

Charities call upon Prime Minister for change after he agrees accessibility is a ‘basic requirement’

Transport and disabled people’s charities are calling for a meeting with the Prime Minister, and a commitment to urgent changes to the transport system to prevent harm to disabled people.

Last week Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson spoke out about accessibility issues following an LNER journey into London Kings Cross. Baroness Thompson was abandoned on the train and forced to crawl out of her wheelchair and lie on platform after  passenger assistance failed to meet her.

Charity’s open letter

Following a media outcry, and an interview with Channel 4 that saw the Prime Minister proudly affirm that accessibility ‘should be a basic requirement’ for public transport operators, a coalition of charities has signed an open letter to Sir Keir calling for commitment to specific actions.

The letter’s signatories, including Transport for All, Guide Dogs, Disability Rights UK, Whizz Kids, Wheels for Wellbeing, Bus Users UK and Thomas Pocklington Trust, are calling for:

  • The Railways Act to include accessibility requirements – forcing train operators to make sure disabled people can use their services.
  • Action to improve the postcode lottery of accessible bus provision, including addressing delays to audio-visual announcements that tell passengers the name of the stop, and displays announcing when the next bus is due.
  • Improvements to staffing and assistance on the railways to address the issues that Baroness Thompson experienced
  • Progress to make trains and platforms level so that wheelchair users can board trains independently

The requests align with Transport for All’s six recommendations for politicians and MPs to improve transport accessibility for disabled people in the UK.  You can read more about these in the Transport for All manifesto.

The open letter in full

Dear Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Transport,

Re: Creating a future with accessible transport for all

We are the Accessible Transport Policy Forum founded by Transport for All, a coalition of disability and passenger organisations representing the 16 million disabled people in the UK who face barriers across all modes of transport. Recent incidents, including the distressing experience of Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, highlight ongoing failures within our transport system to provide accessible and reliable services for disabled passengers. These issues are a daily reality for many disabled people, and its impact can be felt in every corner of our lives. It is time to stop accepting failures as inevitable and work together on real solutions to create change.

We were encouraged to hear your recent comments acknowledging that accessible transport is a critical issue that needs attention. As captured in a recent interview with Channel 4 News, your recognition of the importance of this matter gives us hope that meaningful change is possible. However, it is imperative that these words are followed by concrete actions to address the systemic barriers that disabled people face.

We understand that there are upcoming reforms planned for the rail sector, including the creation of Great British Railways, which aims to unify the rail industry and prioritise the needs of passengers. While this unification presents an opportunity to overhaul and improve accessibility, we are concerned that previous versions of the legislation under the former government lacked strong requirements for rail operators to adhere to accessibility and assistance standards for disabled passengers.

It is crucial that the upcoming Railways Act includes enforceable accessibility requirements to ensure that disabled people can travel independently, safely, and with dignity. Bus services also remain a postcode lottery, with driver and staff awareness very mixed, accessibility of buses and stops sometimes years out of date and pedestrian rollout of audio-visual announcements and real-time information stalled.

The need for robust accessibility standards is underscored by findings from the latest Office of Rail and Road’s 2023-2024 Passenger Assist Report. Passenger assistance fails about a quarter of the time—a figure that is growing year on year. Alarmingly, the number of passengers receiving none of the assistance they booked has risen, highlighting a troubling decline in service effectiveness. These failures are particularly concerning for passengers with non-visible impairments, who often face greater challenges in receiving the support they need. Despite the high satisfaction among those who do receive help, the increasing instances of passengers left without support drive home the need for comprehensive training for transport staff, reliable staffing levels, and clear accountability measures to ensure that disabled passengers receive the assistance they need – whether via Turn Up and Go or pre booked services. Parallel to improvements on staffing and assistance, urgent progress is needed to deliver step-free level boarding across the rail network.

We request an urgent meeting with you, the Prime Minister, and the Secretary of State for Transport, to discuss these concerns and the necessary actions to improve accessibility across our transport system. As you may know, the previous Transport Select Committee recently conducted an enquiry into the legal obligations of transport providers regarding accessibility, concluding that:

“Accessibility cannot be regarded as a matter of regular customer service: that it is both a health and safety issue and a matter of human rights and protection from discrimination. In the light of this, the whole transport system needs a change of mindset, so that operators and others act on the basis that failures must be vanishingly rare, not commonplace.”

This meeting will provide an opportunity to develop a collaborative and comprehensive plan that ensures disabled people are treated with respect and provided with the accessibility services they require. By working together, we can set a new standard for inclusive and accessible transport that not only meets the needs of disabled people but also demonstrates the UK’s commitment to equality and human rights for all its citizens.

We are committed to working with the government and transport providers to create a truly inclusive transport system that serves everyone equally. We urge you to take this opportunity to meet with us and commit to making the changes required to uphold the rights of disabled people across the UK.

We look forward to your prompt response and the opportunity to collaborate on these critical changes.

A wheelchair user in a manual chair, propelling themselves up a ramp on to to a train. The ramp is held in place by two members of railway staff placing a foot on the side, demonstrating one way to achieve increased transport accessibility.

Yours sincerely,

Emma Vogelmann, Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns at Transport for All (Policy Forum founder)

Claire Walters, Chief Executive of Bus Users UK and Disability & Access Ambassador for Buses

Sarah Pugh, Chief Executive of Whizz Kidz

Stephen Brookes MBE. Transport Policy Adviser at Disability Rights UK

Eleanor Briggs, Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns at Guide Dogs

Isabelle Clement, Director at Wheels for Wellbeing

Charles Colquhoun CEO of Thomas Pocklington Trust

A man standing in front of a painted brick wall smiling at the camera. He is holding a cane and is wearing glasses, a black jacket and a grey t-shirt. A man standing in front of a painted brick wall smiling at the camera. He is holding a cane and is wearing glasses, a black jacket and a grey t-shirt.

Support us

We can't do this without your support. Take action, give what you can, or sign up as a member - and join our movement of disabled people fighting for a better future.