MPs


on
the
Commons
Transport
Committee
are
calling
for
transport
to
be
made
more
accessible
for
people
with
disabilities,
saying
that
accessibility
for
disabled
people
must
be
recognised
as
a
human
right
rather
than
‘nice
to
have’.
Failures
should
be
seen
as
discrimination,
not
merely
as
a
customer
service
problem,
and
a
change
of
approach
is
needed
by
operators,
regulators
and
enforcers.

A
new
report
is
spelling
out
the
gaps
in
provision,
from
accounts
of
wheelchair
users
left
on
planes
for
hours,
to
taxi
drivers
refusing
lifts
to
people
because
they
have
an
assistance
dog,
and
street
clutter
causing
obstructions.

The
Committee
considered
825
responses
to
a
survey,
finding
that
67
per
cent
of
disabled
people,
or
those
who
assist
them,
encounter
problems
‘always’
or
‘most
of
the
time’,
with
only
1.7
per
cent
saying
they
never
experienced
problemss
when
travelling.
A
further
50.8
per
cent
said
that
they
would
decide
against
making
a
journey
at
least
once
a
month
because
they
expected
to
face
difficulties.

The
report
makes
several
recommendations,
including
the
need
to
reform
regulations,
legal
duties
and
enforcement
bodies,
because
at
the
moment
the
position
is
far
too
fragmented
and
complex.
The
law
should
work
in
theory
but
the
reality
is
very
different,
and
a
review
of
all
relevant
legislation
and
the
powers
and
resources
of
enforcement
bodies
is
needed,
for
all
transport
modes.
It
said
this
review
should
assess
whether
a
single
enforcement
body
would
be
more
effective.

Committee
xhair
Ruth
Cadbury
said:
‘It
should
be
a
source
of
national
embarrassment
that
our
country’s
transport
services
effectively
treat
disabled
people
as
second
class
citizens,
denying
them
access
to
jobs,
leisure,
support
networks
and
essential
services
–
denying
them
their
rights.

‘This
inquiry
worked
on
the
premise
that
people
are
disabled
by
barriers
in
society,
not
by
their
condition
or
difference,
and
that
services
should
be
designed
to
enable
disabled
people
to
travel
independently,
not
reliant
on
others.
After
all,
services
that
work
for
disabled
people
also
work
better
for
everyone.

‘And
yet,
those
who
have
been
let
down
and
want
redress
or
compensation
face
a
spaghetti
junction
of
complaints
processes
that
either
fob
them
off
or
lead
them
on
a
road
to
nowhere.
Even
when
complaints
are
resolved,
lessons
aren’t
learnt,
changes
aren’t
put
in
place,
and
it’s
tempting
to
think
that
the
small
and
occasional
penalties
for
failure
are
accepted
by
providers
as
a
mere
cost
of
doing
business.  

‘Failures
must
go
from
being
an
everyday
occurrence
to
vanishingly
rare.
In
its
reforms
to
transport
services
over
this
Parliament,
the
Government
must
ensure
people
with
access
needs
no
longer
go
unseen,
unheard
and
unacknowledged.
This
should
be
underpinned
with
a
new
inclusive
transport
strategy,
backed
by
long-term
funding.

‘We
would
like
to
thank
the
many
charities,
experts,
campaigners
–
including
disabled
people
who
have
lived
with
inadequate
services
–
for
giving
evidence
to
this
Committee
and
its
predecessor
before
the
general
election.
We
look
forward
to
working
constructively
with
the
Government
and
tracking
its
progress
over
the
coming
years.’

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