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Our impact

We are a small but mighty Disabled People’s Organisation and we are proud of the impact we have. Read more about what we've achieved this past year.

Our impact in numbers

Here's a snapshot of what we've achieved in 2022-23.
3 million
post impressions on social media
258
people given Disability Equality Training
31%
sitting MPs contacted

Our impact: 2022/23

Read more about the impact we have made in our four key areas.

A group of three people looking into the camera. On the left is a white man with grey hair seated in a powerchair. Next to him is a woman with dark red hair, and a colourful red shirt. Behind them a woman is standing up, she has purple hair and wears a black leather jacket over a black and white dress.

Membership 

2023 saw us reach a thousand members (all of whom have joined us since we relaunched our membership scheme in 2021). Our Biennial General Meeting (BGM) was held on Zoom, where members joined to review the work of the organisation since the previous BGM in February 2020. We also held a selection of onsite and hybrid members events throughout the year, including a Crossrail campaign commemoration to coincide with the opening of the new line, to pay tribute to the efforts of the incredible campaigners who fought for and won additional funding for step-free access. Seb Dance, Deputy Mayor of London, gave a talk and answered questions from our members.

A hand painted carboard sign with red background and white text that says

Co-production

To coincide with Transport for All’s 40th birthday in 2023, in Spring 2022 we received funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to build an archive to discover and celebrate the history of the accessible transport movement. 

The entire project, and the things we create from it, will be designed and produced in conjunction with Disabled people. This involves creating an online home for the archive, researching the history of the movement, and digitising physical items such as documents, photos, and placards. 

The Disability History Group, made up of 10 members, began working together in September 2022 to direct the project, and steer decisions about building the archive sharing its stories. 

Read about Marie’s transport experiences and her interest in history which led to her joining the Disability History Group.

Advice service

Concerns about Door-to-Door transport were the most prevalent this year across the service: we had 152 enquiries about Taxicard and 94 enquiries about London Dial-A-Ride.

A photograph of Folaranmi. He is a Black, bald man wearing a white polo shirt and blue jeans. He uses a crutch on his right arm. The photo stands against a green background, with a white, red, and blue pattern.

London

In Spring 2022 we teamed up with Age UK London to investigate the experiences of Dial-a-Ride users, including the importance of Dial-a-Ride as well as improvements that could be made to the service.  

We published our joint report: Dial-a-Ride: From Door to More, outlining the positive and negative experiences of 14 Dial-a-Ride users and highlighting potential areas for improvement. 

Read about Folaranmi’s experiences of Dial-a-Ride, and the take he went to City Hall to present the research to decision makers.

In September 2022 Transport for London responded in writing to all of the report’s recommendations, announcing some positive changes following the campaign. These include additional staff to reduce call waiting times and a new scheduling system to reduce inefficient journeys.

Three disabled people looking defiantly into the camera. On the left is a Black man with upper and lower limb differences who uses an electric wheelchair. He has short brown hair and a beard, and is wearing a blue t-shirt and bag. In the middle is a white woman standing with her arm on her hip. She has brown hair, wears glasses, and a black jumper. On the right is an Asian man who uses an electric wheelchair. He has dark hair, and wears glasses, a grey denim jacket, and jeans.

National

In April 2022, Government plans for the mass shut down of rail ticket offices across the UK were leaked to the press. We spearheaded the campaign opposing the proposals. Our actions included:

  • Press and media: We worked hard to ensure that disabled voices were platformed rather than spoken for. On the day the public consultation went live, Transport for All spokespeople appeared on the evening news on each of the three main National broadcasting channels simultaneously (BBC, ITV and Channel 4), reaching a massive audience.
  • MP letter-writing campaign: Utilising our network of members, we ran a letter writing campaign, providing members with a template letter and platform to easily write to their local MP and demand they oppose the plans. Over 250 people sent letters, to 174 MPs (27% of all sitting MPs). 
  • Joint letter: Responding to the consultation, we submitted a detailed (13,000 word) letter of objection, which was co-signed by 90 other organisations. 

Our work during the year served to draw attention to their potential impacts and build public opinion in support of our campaign. As a result, it’s estimated around three-quarters of a million people responded, making it the most responded-to public consultation of all time, and the passenger bodies rejected the proposals in their entirety.

Read more about our ticket office campaign.

Training 

Our associates delivered Disability Equality Training to 258 people across 11 organisations, including Local Authorities, operators, transport consultancies, and national charities. This is a 15% increase in the number of people trained from the previous year.

The real-life examples and the individual experiences that were shared with the group were the most useful part of the day. This gave ideas on what barriers there are or how accessibility needs can be met.

The information was presented in a really useful and engaging way. I really liked the summary of some solutions that we can look to push forward and include in the projects we manage.

I think the majority of us have strong desires and intentions on wanting to deliver accessible schemes, but we often aren't aware of how we can create the most impact and what solutions may be available. This was a really informative session.

Consultancy 

We worked on 11 different projects where our team of disabled associates worked as equal partners with industry professionals. 

Feedback: user testing project for street works companies:

“We worked with the team on a project funded by some of the UK’s largest Energy network owners. The team’s input into this work was illuminating, intelligent and honest.

They helped us deliver a far better product than we would have achieved on our own – which is good for our clients and the public.

Possibly just as importantly, their interactions have been transformative for myself and several of the Project Team. More than ever, we recognise the need to ensure we are “designing with” rather than “designing for”. Their voice has been crucial in guiding us to this point.”

Two people are talking together on a bus, other people are standing nearby. On the left is a woman seated in a bright pink wheelchair. She wears a grey coat and has long brown hair. On the right is Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London. He is standing with his back to the window.

Communications

We’ve spread the word about accessible transport: 

  • Our total number of fans and followers across all social media channels was 30,000 (up 30% from 2021-22)  
  • Our page and profile reach across all channels was 50,000 (up 988% from 2021-22)  
  • Our post impressions across all channels was 3 million impressions (up 2.3m from 2021-22) 

2022-23 Impact Report

Take a look back at the impact we made in 2022-23.

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.