Improvements needed to transport services for disabled people, says Assembly Committee
10 February 2011
More needs to be done to ensure that disabled people are able to fully benefit from public transport services in Wales, according to the National Assembly for Wales’s Equality of Opportunity Committee.
The report from the cross-party group of AMs highlights concern that the Welsh Government, local authorities and transport providers are not adequately consulting disability groups in the development stages of transport planning. It recommends that the Government consults disability groups as it rolls out its National Transport Plan.
The Committee welcomes the Government’s policy of providing free bus travel for older and disabled people but calls for it to be protected in the current financial climate.
It also states that the application process for the scheme is inconsistent and uses language which could be offensive to people with learning disabilities. It recommends the introduction of a common, user-friendly application form to combat this.
The Committee also heard evidence of issues faced by disabled people living in rural areas who rely on taxis as their method of transport, including insufficient numbers of accessible vehicles.
Better driver training, more accessible information and the need for more effective community transport schemes are other recommendations of the report.
Committee Chair, Ann Jones AM, said: “This inquiry was shaped and informed by the very people who use these transport services and the report’s recommendations are therefore evidence-based.
“We heard of inconsistencies in applying for and using concessionary bus passes, poor accessibility and availability of transport information, a shortage of accessible private hire vehicles and the potential dangers of shared spaces.
“Representatives of disabled people’s organisations told us that these issues have the effect of compounding existing disadvantages, preventing disabled people from accessing education, social events, employment and health services, and so increasing their social exclusion.
“While we welcome the progress being made by the Welsh Government in this area, we ask that our recommendations are taken on board so that disabled people can have access to a co-ordinated and progressive transport agenda that better meets their individual needs.”