Guidance

How to consult effectively with disabled people

Updated 23 March 2020

One of the principles of the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme is that participating operators engage openly and constructively with disabled people. This is so that you can:

• identify and prioritise changes you can make to improve the accessibility of your services
• implement these changes effectively by involving disabled people in making changes that affect them
• evaluate the changes you have made

You can use this guide to help you fulfil a range of criteria in the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme. In particular, you should use this guide to help you to fulfil any criteria that specifically calls for proactive engagement with disabled people.

Find out more information about earning Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme accreditations.

Channels of engagement with disabled people

Engaging directly with disabled people is one of the best ways for you to improve the accessibility of your services.

You should consider:

• how you can engage with disabled people in your community
• how you can engage with disabled people who are not currently using the transport system
• how to gather insight from people with a range of impairments, conditions and travel needs

Some recommended ways of engaging with disabled people are listed below.

Some of these approaches involve direct engagement with disabled people, while others involve engagement with organisations representing disabled people (eg charities).

Note that all operators should pursue at least one approach that involves direct engagement with disabled people.

Customer surveys

You could collect primary data in the form of passenger surveys (links to which are attached, for example, to booking confirmation emails) and face-to-face interviews.

Customer panels or accessibility forums

You could establish a panel or forum of disabled people. These bodies could also include family members of disabled people, groups representing disabled people, and/or accessibility experts.

If you do set up such a group, you must ensure that its members are representative of people with a range of conditions and impairments. You should also establish, from the outset, the remit of the group’s activity, its purposes and aims, and the ways in which the output of the group will be incorporated into your day-to-day operation.

To maximise the effectiveness of the group, you should tailor its activity to your own circumstances. For example, you should consider:

• the size of the group and the frequency of group meetings
• whether the group should always meet in person, or utilise opportunities to interact digitally
• whether you can share a group with other operators running services in the same area

Customer engagement events

You could host engagement events which give people the chance to interact with you directly.

If you hold such events, you should consider how you promote them among people or groups representing a wide range of conditions and impairments. You should also consider how you can promote them among people who do not usually travel with you.

You should make clear the purpose and aims of these events and the ways in which the outputs of these events will be used.

Mystery passengers

You could deploy disabled ‘mystery passengers’ on your network. These passengers can report back on their experience of undertaking a journey, focusing on specific areas of service provision and/or drawing attention to barriers they have encountered.

If you deploy ‘mystery passengers’, you should ensure that they are, over time, representative of people with a wide range of conditions and impairments. You should also ensure that systems are in place to produce and/or react to mystery passenger reports.

Depending on your own circumstances, you could:

• hire mystery passengers from external organisations
• establish an in-house group of mystery passengers
• share mystery passengers with other operators running services in the same area

Engagement with groups representing disabled passengers

You could engage with groups, charities or user-led organisations representing disabled passengers. This engagement could take place on an ad hoc basis, or in the context of an ongoing partnership.

Please note that some organisations dedicate themselves to representing people with one particular condition. These organisations can offer valuable insight relating to their area of expertise, but should not be solely replied upon for advice relating to general accessibility.

In addition, please note that organisations representing disabled people may, at their own discretion, charge a fee for their services and the expertise they provide.

Engagement in the community

You could look to work with disabled people through groups that already exist in your community. For example, you may benefit from the insight of local access groups, local mobility forums and/or groups attached to a local authority.

You may also look to engage with establishments or institutions serving disabled people in your local areas, such as schools or colleges which specialise in provision for disabled people.

Working with access consultants

You could utilise the services of qualified access consultants. Read more about accredited access consultants and the help they can offer you.

Note that access consultants will, at their own discretion, charge a fee for the services they provide.

Working with your staff

You may already have people who can offer invaluable insight into the experiences of disabled passengers working for you. You could form an internal staff disability network, inviting colleagues to share their experiences (or the experiences of their family members) across your organisation.

Identifying and prioritising accessibility improvements

Using these channels of engagement, you can identify barriers faced by disabled people and potential ways of removing these barriers.

You should also use these channels of engagement to prioritise actions that will have the most positive overall impact on the travelling experiences of disabled people. It is important to be aware that a change you might make to benefit one group of people could detract from the travelling experiences of another group of people. For example, increasing the brightness of lighting in a rail station may make it easier for a visually impaired person to travel, but make it harder for an autistic child with light sensitivity to undertake the same journey.

By engaging with a representative range of disabled people through a number of channels, you can ensure that the changes you make have the desired effect of making your services more accessible for everyone.

For example, you might consider:

• hosting customer engagement events to gather suggestions regarding potential accessibility improvements
• working with a qualified access consultant to decide which of your preferred suggestions would have the most positive overall impact on accessibility

Implementing accessibility improvements

Once you have decided on the changes you wish to make, you should use these channels of engagement to ensure that the change is implemented effectively.

It is crucial that your new service, facility or infrastructure is functional, fit-for-purpose and user friendly.

For example, you might consider:

• working with your internal staff disability network to develop a new service and complete a first round of internal testing
• working with local groups or organisations representing disabled people to complete a second, external round of testing

Evaluating accessibility improvements

Having implemented a change to your service, you must observe its impact on the travelling experience of disabled people. You should use these channels of engagement to measure and understand this impact. For example, you might consider:

• asking ‘mystery passengers’ to report on the effectiveness of a new facility or service
• designing a targeted survey of passengers to gain quantitative data relating to the impact of a facility or service
• utilising the services of a customer panel or accessibility forum to gain qualitative data relating to the impact of a facility or service on disabled passengers’ experiences

To be accredited in the Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme, you must be able to highlight ways in which you have engaged with disabled people to improve accessibility. Find out more about earning Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme accreditations.