Corporate report

DPTAC Main Committee meeting minutes April 2023

Updated 10 September 2024

1:15pm to 5pm, 19 April 2023, DfT London and online.

Attendees

DPTAC: Matthew Campbell-Hill (Chair), Will Bee, Tanvi Vyas, Roger Mackett, Jessica Uguccioni, Mike Brace, Niki Glazier, Bryan Matthews, Sharon Brennan, Sue Sharp, Helen Dolphin, David Mapp.

Guests: Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee (IMTAC), Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS), Welsh Government.

Introductory discussion

DPTAC Chair welcomed all to the meeting, set out housekeeping arrangements including the requirement for confidentiality as appropriate. He placed on record his thanks to the previous DPTAC Chair, Keith Richards for his longstanding service, and to Chris Price and Matt Smith for their service as DPTAC members.

Apologies noted from David Partington. DfT provided an update on Secretariat support to DPTAC.

Presentations from DPTAC members

The Chair invited members to give a series of quickfire presentations to explore individual areas of interest, and to aid the Committee in developing its future work programme. Members presented the following ideas:

Autonomous vehicles

There are significant potential benefits of autonomous vehicles to disabled people when vehicles are developed to level 5 autonomy (no longer requiring human attention to operate), in terms of making independent door-to-door journeys, and more efficient use of vehicle fleets. The Committee noted the potential impacts on road congestion and associated infrastructure on the mobility of disabled people, as well as the need to maintain investment in accessible rail services. The Committee discussed DfT’s vision of shared mobility, keeping smaller vehicles for shorter journeys, noting further work is needed to understand how vehicles will be affordable and accessible for wheelchair users. The Committee considered the importance of working to ensure the new accessibility standard for public EV charging points, PAS 1899, delivers high quality facilities for disabled drivers.

Quality of data and the “travel gap”

The Committee considered how the engineering of public service vehicles has improved significantly this century, yet the rate and frequency of journeys made by disabled vs non-disabled people has remained broadly the same. Intermodal connectivity was a significant issue and needed to be considered further before the issue could be dismissed. The Committee noted that the quality and granularity of data was an issue, alongside making better use of existing sources such as the National Travel Survey.

Connections with wider health and social policy

The Committee discussed potential impacts of proposed changes to the work capability assessment from 2026/27 on demand for accessible travel, and changes to hospital parking policy.

Improving the planning system

The Committee discussed how putting disabled people at the centre of development could support a shift in cultures and societal understanding of the need to provide a built environment for everyone designed around principles of inclusive design. This could support accessible end-to-end journeys for all.

Interaction with active travel

Committee members acknowledged the need to promote walking, cycling and wheeling, but identified that more work is needed to address the needs of disabled people. The Committee noted that key to this is continued working to improve the pedestrian environment for disabled people.

Economic appraisal

The Committee discussed the benefits of accessibility being better reflected in the economic appraisal of transport investments. The Committee noted that investing in accessibility also has wider benefits for the travelling public across sectors beyond transport, yet these benefits may not be typically captured in appraisal frameworks.

Travel information

The Committee discussed the potential to develop a dedicated journey planning platform, providing information to disabled passengers on accessible facilities. The Committee noted that technology has brought a revolution in the availability of information, but disabled people may need different formats, while an overreliance on technology could reduce support provided by people/transport staff, which is a necessity for many disabled passengers.

Cross-departmental working

The Committee considered how to improve cross-departmental working, bringing other government departments into the picture and think about impact of policies across areas. The Committee noted the potential for the Cabinet Office Disability Unit (CODU) to co-ordinate activity. The Committee noted the potential to think about wider inclusivity, beyond access for disabled people.

Rail reform

The Committee considered how the rail reform agenda presents a significant opportunity, bringing together the National Rail Accessibility Strategy, accessibility requirements for stations, and improved prioritisation of investment. The Committee noted that the planned Accessibility Duty presents an opportunity to help establish a foundation by which good accessibility is at the heart of each and every aspect of the passenger journey.

Engagement with disabled people’s organisations

The Committee noted how engaging more regularly with disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) could support DPTAC to hear directly from those organisations working at the front line, adding to DPTAC members’ expertise.

Non-visible disabilities

The Committee noted the need to boost support for people with non-visible disabilities, including mental health conditions, autism and dementia.

E-scooters

The Committee discussed engaging in further work to improve safety for disabled pedestrians.

Accommodating mobility scooters on buses

DPTAC introduced the session as part of an ongoing conversation and engagement process with DfT as it reviews existing accessibility regulations for public service vehicles. Standards set now were likely to influence vehicle design beyond 2050. Greater use of mass transit could place greater reliance on the journey from home to the bus stop.

Discussion considered how the growth in mobility scooters was not prevalent when the existing regulations were designed, and practical matters such as how people cannot leave scooters at bus stops. If it was relatively easy to take a scooter on a bus, independent longer distance journeys could become more feasible.

The Committee considered whether to press for amendments to the regulations so that buses are better able to accommodate Class 2 mobility scooters. Members agreed this was a complex issue. Accommodating space for scooters into the body of a bus may be a challenge and have knock on effects for other bus users, including other disabled passengers. There were also safety concerns regarding the stability of scooters on buses, and their potential to tip over when vehicles brake or corner, and consideration as to whether a restraint system would be required.

Members agreed it would be important to capture the views of manufacturers, transport operators, and users before the Committee could develop a firmer position.

Action: IMTAC and Wales to share documents and learning on procurement frameworks

Concessionary bus fares review

DfT gave a presentation setting out the context for DfT’s plans to review concessionary fares funding for bus services in England, as set out in the National Bus Strategy. The policy was last reviewed in 2010, and concessionary bus patronage had shifted significantly due to the pandemic. Current definitions no longer align with wider Government schemes such as Personal Independent Payments (PIP) and Blue Badges.

The review would consider the potential for extending eligibility criteria to include non-visible disabilities (expected impact and associate costs).

DPTAC published its current position on concessionary fares policy in August 2022. The Committee agreed to assist DfT during the course of the review and to offer a DPTAC member to sit on the steering group considering disability eligibility. Members highlighted learning and potential parallels with recent work undertaken as part of the review of rail concessionary fares.

Action: DPTAC to Identify a member(s) to join the steering group.

Action: DPTAC to share learning from the review of the disabled persons railcard.

The Committee thanked the DfT policy team for engaging early with DPTAC on this issue.

Any other business

It was agreed the next date of the meeting would be 29 June 2023 and papers would be circulated a week in advance. Agreed action points would be followed up with individual committee members.