Travelling with Confidence at Plymouth Bus Day

Devon Communities Together and Living Options Devon will be launching their Travelling With Confidence project at the Plymouth Bus Day on 16th September on Armada Way.  

Travelling With Confidence is a project funded by the Motability Foundation and supports people with any kind of disability to use public transport by: 

• Providing travel training to boost confidence and develop skills in finding information, booking tickets and managing journeys 
• working with transport organisations and policy makers to improve information and support for disabled travellers 
• working with disabled travellers to design the travel training package and draw up recommendations for improvements in services 
• raising public awareness of the challenges faced by disabled passengers 

A Motability Foundation report found* that the main challenges faced by disabled passengers included physical access to buses and trains, availability and quality of digital, visual and auditory information, dealing with crowds and the attitudes of other people.  

Visitors to the launch event on 16th September will be able to try for themselves manoeuvring a mobility scooter onto a bus to experience the additional demands that physically disabled people face when travelling. 

They will also be able to meet our travel trainers and find out more about the project. Devon Communities Together and Living Options Devon are grateful for the support of Plymouth City Council, Stagecoach and Go South West for the opportunity to showcase the project at Plymouth Bus Day. 

Travel training 

Travel training is for people with any kind of disability. It is available for voluntary, care and health organisations to train their clients, or for individuals to join independently. It has been co-designed by a group of people with disabilities. 

Trainees have a preparation session then go on two trips to gain practical experience of boarding buses and trains, dealing with staff and increasing their confidence. The journeys are social, visiting a café or attraction, and provide plenty of opportunity for participants to compare notes and share stories. 

One of the participants in our pilot training programme, Sheila Merret said, ‘it opened my eyes on how easy it will become with practice and gave me much needed confidence.’ 

Project Lead Laila Underwood said, ‘we make the travel days as stress free and enjoyable as possible. There is social time, and every element of the journey is supported. After our first trip everyone felt much more able to deal with problems – and had a bit of an adventure! I recommend it to anyone who would like to travel more but feels worried about taking the next steps.’  

Improving services 

The Travelling with Confidence project is working with groups of people to assess travel facilities – from websites and timetables to bus stops and station staff. The project is gathering experiences of public transport – the highs and lows – so they can provide information to transport companies that will enable them to improve services. Project manager Rod Birtles said, ‘we are delighted that bus and rail companies are enthusiastic to work with us on the project. Everyone wants to improve the travel experience for people with disabilities. Travelling With Confidence is a practical step to make that happen.’ 

Public awareness 

Overwhelmingly staff and other passengers are helpful and considerate, but boarding a bus or getting through a station barrier can be a daunting task when you are disabled. It is easy to feel judged because you take longer, may have to ask for help – or even because you ‘look different’. Non-disabled people often want to be helpful but are not sure how to go about it. And in rare cases other passengers can be unhelpful or even obstructive. 

There are 16 million disabled people in the UK**. That’s almost 24% of the population, so chances are most people have a disability themselves or are close to someone who does – even if it’s not registered or visible. The Travelling With Confidence project wants to educate and raise awareness of the barriers disabled people face, as well as how and when everyone can help, with as many people as possible. 

* The Transport Accessibility Gap, Motability Foundation (March 2022)  

**Scope - Disability facts and figures | Disability charity Scope UK