Guidance

How to apply for Inclusive Transport Operator accreditation

Updated 23 March 2020

Inclusive Transport Operator accreditation

There are 3 levels of accreditation in the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme:

• Inclusive Transport Committed
• Inclusive Transport Operator
• Inclusive Transport Leader

Each of these accreditation levels represents a step on the journey to becoming a leader in inclusive travel.

Inclusive Transport Operator accreditations last for 2 years. You may choose to apply for a higher level of accreditation before this time period has elapsed, if you feel that you are able to demonstrate the required progress. If you reach the end of the 2 year period without progressing, you will need to reapply for accreditation.

Once you’ve read this guidance, you can apply for Inclusive Transport Operator accreditation.

Inclusive Transport Operator criteria

To be recognised as an Inclusive Transport Operator, you must have taken significant steps to ensure that your services are accessible to disabled people. You will do this by fulfilling the criteria listed below.

Fulfil all Inclusive Transport Committed criteria

To be recognised as an Inclusive Transport Operator, you must have fulfilled all criteria associated with the previous level of accreditation, Inclusive Transport Committed.

Find out more about Inclusive Transport Committed accreditation.

Achieve ‘Disability Confident Committed: Level 1’ in the Department for Work and Pensions’ Disability Confident employer scheme

You must demonstrate your commitment to inclusivity within your organisation by achieving the ‘Disability Confident Committed (Level 1)’ award (or a higher level of award) in the Department for Work and Pensions’ ‘Disability Confident’ employer scheme.

Find out how the Disability Confident employer scheme can help you to make the most of the talents that disabled people can bring to your workplace.

Proactively engage with disabled people, leading to accessibility improvements

You must be able to demonstrate that, within the last 2 years, you have engaged with disabled people in order to:

• identify at least 2 actions you could take to improve the accessibility of your services in each of the following areas:
  • the ‘disability confidence’ of staff
  • disabled passengers’ awareness of their rights and their means of seeking redress
  • the journey-planning information available to passengers
  • the physical accessibility of vehicles and/or transport infrastructure
• test and implement these changes effectively
• review the impact of these changes, showing that they have improved the travelling experiences of disabled people

These areas of improvements are based on 4 of the key themes of the Department for Transport’s Inclusive Transport Strategy. Based on responses to the department’s 2017 Accessibility Action Plan consultation, the strategy identified these core areas of focus for the department’s goal of delivering equal access to transport for all.

While there are no set actions that you must take in these themes, this guide will help you to understand the sorts of actions you might take to improve accessibility in these areas.

The ‘disability confidence’ of staff

The Inclusive Transport Committed tier of accreditation requires you to deliver disability awareness training to your staff. This theme builds on that criterion.

To be accredited at the level of Inclusive Transport Operator, you must engage with disabled people to:

• identify 2 actions you can take to improve the ‘disability confidence’ of your staff
• test and implement these changes effectively
• review the impact of these changes, showing that they have improved the travelling experiences of disabled people

There are no set actions that an operator must take to achieve this improvement. Your actions in this area should be guided primarily by the outcomes of your engagement with disabled people. However, you might consider the following:

• providing staff with targeted disability awareness or assistance training to improve customer service on specific routes, at specific sites, or in specific ways
• providing frontline and managerial staff with specific training on selected conditions or impairments (the contents of this training should be designed in partnership with disabled people)
• providing staff with role-specific disability training; for example, staff responsible for the design or purchase of vehicle/transport infrastructure receive training related to physical accessibility, and communications staff receive training on the use of positive, inclusive language relating to disability
• providing staff with assistance training, including information about types of equipment which can assist disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility and how to handle such equipment
• ensuring that new staff receive disability awareness training before they are deployed on the network
• working in partnership with staffing agencies to ensure that temporary staff receive the same disability awareness training as permanent staff
• entering into training partnerships with other operators to provide customers with smoother transitions onto connecting journeys

Read a case study about how HoverCare ambassadors put accessibility at the forefront of customer service.

Disabled passengers’ awareness of their rights and their means of seeking redress

The Inclusive Transport Committed tier of accreditation requires you to adopt a proactive approach to ensuring passengers’ rights are fulfilled. This theme builds on that criterion.

To be accredited at the level of Inclusive Transport Operator, you must engage with disabled people to:

• identify 2 actions you can take to improve awareness of rights and means of seeking redress
• test and implement these changes effectively
• review the impact of these changes, showing that they have improved the travelling experiences of disabled people

There are no set actions that an operator must take to achieve this improvement. Your actions in this area should be guided primarily by the outcomes of your engagement with disabled people. However, you might consider the following:

• combining disabled passengers’ rights with customer-service promises in the form of a customer charter, which is made available in a range of accessible formats and promoted in communications with customers (eg a link to the charter is included in booking confirmation emails)
• introducing innovative, simplified or improved means of promoting passenger rights and/or complaints procedures
• simplifying the process by which customers are able to make complaints and raise issues
• introducing efficient means of identifying, classifying and recording complaints with an accessibility component
• demonstrating ways in which you have identified and addressed thematic issues raised by customer complaints

The journey-planning information available to disabled passengers

The Inclusive Transport Committed tier of accreditation requires you to publish a web content accessibility statement, in line with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1. This theme builds on that criterion.

To be accredited at the level of Inclusive Transport Operator, you must engage with disabled people to:

• identify 2 actions you can take to improve the journey planning information available to disabled passengers
• test and implement these changes effectively
• review the impact of these changes, showing that they have improved the travelling experiences of disabled people

There are no set actions that an operator must take to achieve this improvement. Your actions in this area should be guided primarily by the outcomes of your engagement with disabled people. However, you might consider the following:

• making further improvements to your web content, in line with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1
• making it easier for customers to purchase tickets in advance of their journey (eg booking systems are designed to remember user requirements from previous bookings)
• improving the journey planning information available to disabled passengers in advance of their journeys, taking into account the range of available formats for information-provision
• improving the real-time updates provided to disabled customers during their journeys, including updates on delays, alterations of services, and the availability of assistance facilities such as accessible toilets
• sharing relevant data with other transport services and local authorities (in a way that maintains individual privacy)
• facilitating the provision of an independent travel training (ITT) scheme which helps disabled people to develop skills associated with undertaking journeys, eg using apps and websites to access and utilise journey planning information

The physical accessibility of vehicles and/or transport infrastructure

The Inclusive Transport Committed tier of accreditation requires you to commit to involving disabled people in all future design projects/vehicle acquisitions. This theme builds on that criterion.

To be accredited at the level of Inclusive Transport Operator, you must engage with disabled people to:

• identify 2 actions you can take to improve the physical accessibility of vehicles and/or transport infrastructure
• test and implement these changes effectively
• review the impact of these changes, showing that they have improved the travelling experiences of disabled people

There are no set actions that an operator must take to achieve this improvement. Your actions in this area should be guided primarily by the outcomes of your engagement with disabled people. However, you might consider the following:

• working with vehicle manufacturers to improve the accessibility of vehicle design/vehicle infrastructure , eg designing or re-designing floors to ensure they are ‘dementia friendly’
• improving the accessibility of signage and other means of wayfinding
• increasing the number of routine checks on the functionality of accessibility infrastructure, eg accessible toilets and boarding ramps
• increasing the provision of, and/or improving the location of, inclusive parking (Blue Badge restrictions can be used as a guide)
• designating quiet spaces or ‘safe havens’ for customers who need them
• investing in inclusive transport infrastructure (eg Changing Places toilets, sensory rooms, induction loops)
• hosting ‘access days’ or ‘try before you travel’ sessions, aimed at helping disabled people to familiarise themselves with vehicles and/or transport infrastructure

Read:

• a case study about Blackpool Transport providing fully accessible rail replacement services
• a case study about Bus operator trentbardon who provides one-to-one training for wheelchair and mobility scooter users
• a case study about Govia Thameslink Railway’s Try a Train days which help to increase passengers’ confidence
• more about engaging with disabled people

Note that the actions you take to fulfil this criterion must exceed your legal obligations to passengers, or fulfil these obligations in an innovative or simplified way that demonstrably improves accessibility and/or the quality of passengers’ travelling experience.

For all operators, obligations are conferred by the Equality Act (2010).

For aviation operators, obligations are additionally conferred by EC 1107/2006.

For rail operators, obligations are additionally conferred by EC 1371/2007, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR)’s Accessible Travel Policy guidance, and regulations pursuant to section 182 of the Equality Act 2010, including Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2011 (RIR).

For local and scheduled bus and coach operators, obligations are additionally conferred by EC 181/2011, Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) and Public Service Vehicles (Conduct of Drivers, Inspectors, Conductors and Passengers) Regulations 1990, as amended.

For maritime operators, obligations are additionally conferred by Merchant Shipping (Passengers’ Rights) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

What happens next

Once you’ve read this guidance, apply for Inclusive Transport Operator accreditation.

On your application form, you will be asked to supply evidence demonstrating your fulfilment of the above criteria.

Once you have submitted your form, we will review your application and notify you of the outcome within the timeframe stated.