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The accessibility technology dismantling barriers for disabled passengers

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Posted: 7 January 2025 | | No comments yet

During the festive season with unpredictable weather and record passenger volumes, the barriers experienced by Disabled and older passengers, and anyone with access needs, can increase significantly. Emma Partlow, Director of Consumer Engagement and Policy, Transreport, explains that reducing barriers is something to address all year round, not just seasonally.

This technology provides a sophisticated operation management system that empowers train operating companies to deliver inclusive assistance, whether passengers have pre-booked or turned up on the day.

Building Solutions Together

Disabled people must be involved in key decision-making processes at every stage of designing travel solutions, to ensure effectiveness and impact. This ethos is central to Transreport’s new Community Network, an initiative designed to increase the integration of real-world insights into our development processes; and enhance our approach to grounding our technology in lived experience.

Our Passenger Assistance technology facilitated over 181,000 bookings in Q4 last year alone, highlighting the impact of the festive season. However, reports indicate that 45% of Disabled passengers still encounter significant challenges when planning their journeys, with these barriers intensifying during busy seasons. We continue to be committed to leveraging lived experience insights and feedback as a cornerstone of our innovation.

Designing With, Not For

At Transreport, we are committed to a strong culture of collaboration with global Disabled communities. Through paid contributions, regular workshops, and dedicated focus groups, our recently announced Community Network provides opportunities for Disabled people to shape our technology from concept to deployment. This approach ensures that solutions like our Passenger Assistance technology not only meet but anticipate user needs, scaling effectively while empowering organisations to provide high-quality personalised service.

A Consumer-Focused Approach

Our Community Network will create a collaborative space where innovation thrives. This initiative is about more than improving individual tools; it demonstrates that when inclusivity is built into the foundation, the results are better for all.

For example, our steering and user-experience groups are composed of people with a diverse range of access needs, whose lived experiences guide our decisions at every level. This is instrumental in ensuring our technology reflects real-world insights.

A Shared Vision for the Future

Transreport is proud to work alongside our transportation partners to drive transformation, combining cutting-edge technology with consumer-driven innovation. Together, we are dismantling barriers in the landscape of travel to make accessibility a standard, not an exception. By embedding these principles into everything we do, we are driving long-lasting global change for passengers with access needs, creating more inclusive experiences for all.

EmmaEmma Partlow, Director of Consumer Engagement and Policy, Transreport

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