Home News Rail regulator calls for more consistent and reliable travel assistance

Rail regulator calls for more consistent and reliable travel assistance

0

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has today published research showing that the majority of passengers using travel assistance are satisfied or very satisfied with the help they receive, however more needs to be done to improve the reliability, consistency and awareness of assistance available.

ORR’s large-scale research shows that satisfaction among passengers using Assisted Travel services is relatively high. 85% of passengers that pre-booked assistance were satisfied or very satisfied and 71% of passengers that received assistance but didn’t book said they would recommend the service.

However, 12% of passengers did not receive any of the assistance they booked, for example staff not turning up and some also report instances where staff are unable to relate to their needs or concerns.

ORR is calling for rail companies to do more to increase awareness of the help available, strengthen the reliability of their assistance and ensure that all staff receive better training. In particular:

  • Improve reliability through better communication between and within rail companies to make sure passengers receive the assistance they have asked for at all points of their journey;
  • Increase awareness of the travel assistance available through improving written and online material and closer working with disability agencies (over 50% of those asked were not aware of the assistance available);
  • Strengthen staff training, to make journeys easier for people with disabilities, particularly those with hidden ones; and
  • Enhancing ORR’s existing monitoring to see how well rail companies are meeting their obligations and to hold them to account for any poor performance.

ORR is today bringing the industry together in the first of a series of events, which will include a December meeting with disability representative groups to discuss how to further improve travel assistance.

Stephanie Tobyn, Deputy Director of Consumers at the ORR commented:

“When travel assistance works as intended, passengers find it a good service, but clearly more needs to be done to make it more reliable and consistent.

A growing number of people with disabilities are travelling by train, and we want to make rail travel easier and more straightforward for them.

That’s why we’ve carried out this research and identified where the service can be strengthened. We’re looking forward to working with industry and passenger groups to make improvements to this important service.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here