Claire Walters - Getting on Board – Making Transport More Accessible

Claire Walters joined Bus Users UK as Chief Executive in 2012. A champion of social inclusion, Claire has transformed Bus Users into a leading voice for accessible transport. Under her leadership, Bus Users is now a registered charity, an approved Alternative Dispute Resolution Body for bus and coach passengers, the nominated body for complaints under Passenger Rights in Bus and Coach Regulation, and a founding member of the Sustainable Transport Alliance. As a leader in her field, Claire has recently become Disability and Access Ambassador for buses. 

Getting on board – making transport more accessible 

Improving access to public transport benefits all of us – not least the millions of people in the UK who are disabled, older, have a cognitive impairment, mental health issue or mobility difficulty.  

Bus services in particular, the most used and most accessible form of public transport, are a lifeline. They reduce loneliness and isolation and all the associated impacts on health and wellbeing, and they provide access to life’s opportunities through employment, education, training, health and leisure. They also reduce congestion, clean our air and boost the economy, so it’s in everyone’s best interests to get more people on board. 

The recent news that on-board audio and visual announcements are finally to be made mandatory is welcome and will greatly enhance bus travel. But it shouldn’t take a change in legislation to improve access to transport, particularly when most changes are neither costly nor high tech and generally make bus travel a more attractive and viable transport option for everyone. 

Providing timetables, service updates, ticketing information and payment options in a range of formats is not only essential for passengers, it’s also a legal requirement and ensures no passenger is disadvantaged when it comes to planning, paying-for or making a journey. Tackling illegal parking in bus stops so drivers can pull in to the curb, deploying the ramp whenever needed and waiting until passengers are seated before pulling away can also have a huge impact on someone’s ability to travel.  

Card and lanyard schemes, another low-cost, low-tech solution, allow passengers to discretely alert the driver to any additional needs they may have, enabling them to travel safely and with confidence. And requiring drivers to pull into every stop ensures no-one is left behind, even those of us unable to see or signal to an oncoming bus. 

Technology has its place, of course, and can be a great asset of inclusion. Apps can offer real-time information, service updates, ticketing information and payment options, bus tracking and even capacity checking so passengers can be confident that when they turn up to a bus stop or station, they are actually able to travel. 

Once on-board, it’s vital that there is enough space for wheelchair users and passengers with buggies, to reduce competition for space. Being able to manoeuvre a wheelchair or mobility scooter is equally important, as is having comfortable seats with plenty of legroom and the soon-to-be mandatory audio-visual announcements that need to be seen and heard by everyone on board. 

For transport to be genuinely inclusive, however, it has to be developed not only in collaboration with the people who use it, but with the people who would use it if the barriers to access were removed. That means working with the local community, passenger groups, charities and NGOs. It means integrating bus services with other transport modes and prioritising and investing in shared, active and public transport to protect these vital and sustainable services for the future.