Passenger Focus- The experiences of disabled rail travellers- National Rail Passenger Survey 2014

*data is combination for last two waves to provide robust figures

*data is rounded up or down

Who did we hear from?

8% of NRPS respondents in 2014 described themselves as having a condition /illness expected to last 12 months or more (disabled)

52% of those said that their condition/illness had an adverse impact on their journey

Those with a condition impacting their mobility (75%) or dexterity (73%) were most likely to say their journey was adversely impacted

24% of those with a listed condition were over the age of 65

* We know that not all of those who answer will necessarily consider themselves disabled, but for the purposes of this report we have grouped them all together.

What disabilities did NRPS passengers have?

*Passengers could tick that they had more than one type of disability and this figure is as a proportion of the 8% who said that they had a condition /illness expected to last 12 months or more (disabled)

Vision – 0.78

Hearing – 1.47

Mobility – 2.4

Dexterity – 0.41

Learning difficulty – 0.27

Memory – 0.34

Mental Health – 1.78

Stamina or breathing or fatigue – 1.22

Socially or behaviourally – 0.30

Other – 1.56

Overall dissatisfaction amongst disabled passengers is 80% compared to 77% amongst other passengers.

Why were they travelling?

More disabled rail passengers travel between 10:00 and 15:59 (41%). This is more than non-disabled passengers (35%)

Disabled passengers were more likely to be visiting friends and relatives than other passengers: 18% vs 12%

Those with mobility (23%) or visual (22%) impairment were most likely to be travelling with another adult.

Those with a disability were most likely to be travelling with baggage/additional items (26%).

Journey purpose of passengers

Leisure – those with a disability 53% compared to 37% of those without

Business - those with a disability 10% compared to 16% of those without.

Commuting – those with a disability 37% compared to 47% of those without.

Did the station and train meet disabled passengers needs?

Satisfaction with station/train ability to meet needs as a passenger with a condition/illness

Those with mobility impairment were most dissatisfied with the station (19%), whilst those with a condition related to dexterity were most dissatisfied with the train (22%)

Vision – 70% satisfied with train - 68% with the station

Hearing – 74% satisfied with train- 75% with the station

Mobility – 65% satisfied with train - 65% with the station

Dexterity – 60% satisfied with train - 67% with the station

Learning difficulty – 71% satisfied with train - 72% with the station

Memory – 64% satisfied with train - 69% with the station

Mental Health – 57% satisfied with train - 63% with the station

Stamina or breathing or fatigue – 64% satisfied with train - 65% with the station

Socially or behaviourally – 58% satisfied with train - 61% with the station.

Other - 60% satisfied with train- 70% with the station

All with a condition or illness – 65% satisfied with train - 67% with the station

Whilst NPS does ask passengers whether or not they booked assistance the numbers saying that they did are too low to provide and accurate picture. We usually like a sample size of at least 100 to get and accurate picture.

Buying a ticket

There was little difference in how passengers with a disability purchased their tickets:

25% bought in advance

22% on the day - Ticket Office

9% on the day - ticket machine

Less used a season ticket – 13% compared to 22% of other passengers

63% of passengers with a disability rate the information provided about available tickets as good

However, those with a learning disability rate it lower - 51%

At the station

Of the station attributes that NRPS asks passengers to rate those with a disability were significantly less satisfied with:

• Provision of information about train times and platforms (77%)

• Personal security (66%)

Overall satisfaction with the station stands at 77% amongst disabled passengers.

At the station disabled passengers are more likely to ask staff for help (20% vs others 13%).

On the train

Satisfaction with train attributes, amongst those passengers with a disability, is generally on a par with other passengers. However in two areas satisfaction was considerably lower:

• Ease of getting on and off of the train. 71% were satisfied compared to 79% of non-disabled passengers

• Personal security on board the train was 72% compared to 77% of non-disabled passengers

Overall satisfaction with the train stands at 77% amongst disabled passengers

Personal security

Passengers were asked if they had cause to worry about personal security when travelling by train in the last six months. Concern was much higher (double) amongst disabled passengers at 18%.

Reasons and percentage of concern amongst disabled passengers were:

Fear or terrorism – 9% on train 9% on station

Saw actual vandalism or violence - 9% on train 10% on station

Anti-social behaviour of others – 70% on train 65% on station

Lack of information - 18% on train 17% on station

Poor lighting - 6% on train 23% on station

Lack of passengers - 13% on train 15% on station

Lack of police officers - 27% on train 26% on station

Lack of staff - 55% on train 56% on station

Other - 13% on train 16% on station

Personal security – Those with a learning disability (62%) or a condition impacting their memory (61%) gave the lowest satisfaction scores and the highest dissatisfaction scores.

Provision of information about train times and platforms – 81% satisfied non-disabled, 77% satisfied disabled. Interestingly those with learning disability (66%) or a condition affecting their memory (66%) gave the lowest ratings for this station attribute.

Availability of staff at the station – No significant difference overall but some disabled passengers, particularly those with conditions related to memory (55%) mental health (54%) socially (51%) are more likely to give lower satisfaction scores.

The rate of concern amongst disabled passengers was highest amongst those with a condition relating to dexterity (32%) or a learning disability (32%)

Whilst most of the reasons given were similar to non-disabled passengers, those that are disabled place much more emphasis on the lack of staff, poor lighting and lack of information provided.

When asked a question on whether they would feel comfortable approaching the police during a journey 81% said yes. Not that different from non-disabled passengers, but only 74% of those with a mental health condition, 70% of those with a memory condition and 66% of those with a learning disability gave the same answer.

In addition to that when asked whether they would agree with the statement that “if I had contact with a police officer they would treat me with respect” only 70% of disabled passengers said yes. 5% below non-disabled. Just 60% of those with a learning disability said yes.

What improvements would help when planning future journeys?

Better telephone enquiry/booking service - for disable passengers 12- and for non-disabled 8

Better internet enquiry/booking service - for disable passengers 22- and for non-disabled 24

Better information facilities at stations - for disable passengers 26- and for non-disabled 22

Better ticket buying facilities at station ticket offices - for disable passengers 25- and for non-disabled 22

Better ticket buying facilities at station ticket machines - for disable passengers 21- and for non-disabled 19

Better route maps of the rail network - for disable passengers 21- and for non-disabled 19

Make timetables easier to read - for disable passengers 30- and for non-disabled 22

Better promotion of when advanced tickets will be available - for disable passengers 34 - and non- disabled 30

Additional points of interest from NRPS

Disabled passengers likely to have a Smartphone to hand on their journey (36% vs 44% of other passengers)

But disabled passengers are less satisfied with the reliability of mobile data coverage for accessing internet/emails on the train (Disabled 35% vs Non-disabled 40%)

Roughly the same number of disable/non-disabled passengers complained to a TOIC following a journey. But disabled passengers are more likely to be dissatisfied with how their complaint was handled (47% vs 36% dissatisfied)

Passenger Focus- The experiences of disabled bus travellers- Bus Passenger Survey 2014

How many bus passengers are disabled?

24% of BPS respondents in 2014 described themselves as having a condition /illness expected to last 12 months or more. For ease of reference we refer to this group as disabled, even though they might not class themselves as disabled.

What disabilities did BPS passengers have?

*Passengers could tick that they had more than one type of disability and this figure is as a proportion of the 24% who said that they had a condition /illness expected to last 12 months or more (disabled)

40% - mobility

22% - mental health

21% - stamina or breathing

20% - hearing

17% - other

13% - vision

9% - dexterity

8% - memory

8% - learning

5% - social/behavioural

Age of disabled bus passengers

16 to 18 years old – 7%

19 to 25 – 11%

26 to 34 – 8%

35 to 44 – 10%

45 to 54% - 13%

55 to 59% - 8%

60 to 64 – 7%

65 to 69 – 9%

70 to 79 – 17%

80+ - 10%

35% of disabled passengers were using an elderly person’s pass; 17% were using a disabled person’s pass

Why were they travelling?

Leisure – 9% of those with a disability compared to 8% of those without

Visiting friends or relatives – 13% those with a disability compared to 10% of those without

Shopping trip – 37% of those with a disability compared to 23% of those without.

Travelling to/from education – 8% of those with a disability compared to 15% of those without

Travelling to/from work – 19% of those with a disability compared to 36% of those without

53% of disabled passengers said that they were travelling by bus because there were no other means of transport available to them. This was lower for other passengers (45%)

At the bus stop?Satisfaction at the bus stop

Information provided at the bus stop – 73% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 74% of other passengers

Its freedom from litter – 72% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 73% of other passengers

Its freedom from graffiti/vandalism – 78% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 79% of other passengers

Its general condition/standard of maintenance – 75% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 75% of other passengers

Convenience/accessibility of location – 87% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 89% of other passengers

Distance of stop from starting point of journey – 85% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 86% of other passengers

Overall satisfaction with the bus stop – 78% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 82% of other passengers

Satisfaction on the bus

Punctuality – 76% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 77% of other passengers

Route/destination information – 86% of disabled passengers were satisfied, the same number as other passengers

Exterior cleanliness – 80% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 82% of other passengers

Ease of getting on and off – 89% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 92% of other passengers

Time taken to board – 90% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 91% of other passengers

Interior cleanliness – 80% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to79% of other passengers

Information provided inside the bus – 66% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 67% of other passengers

Availability of seats or space to stand – 85% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 87% of other passengers

Comfort of the seats – 76% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 77% of other passengers

Amount of personal space – 75% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 77% of other passengers

Provision of grab rails – 83% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 85% of other passengers

Temperature inside – 77% of disable passengers were satisfied compared to 78% of other passengers

On the bus journey time – 87% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 85% of other passengers

Only 7% of passengers reported that there were audio announcements and just 13% said that there was digital next stop display confirmation.

Personal security

77% of disabled passengers were satisfied with their security at the bus stop, compared to 79% of other passengers. Satisfaction amongst disabled passengers varied depending on the condition/illness and was lowest amongst those with a social/behavioural condition, at 70%.

On the bus 83% of those with a disability were satisfied, compared to 84% of other passengers. Satisfaction was lowest amongst those passengers with a learning difficulty, 76% satisfied.

In BPS we ask whether the behaviour of other passengers had led to cause to worry or discomfort. 8% of disabled passengers said yes, compared to 6% of other passengers.

The rate of concern/worry was highest for those with learning difficulties 14%, and those with a social/behavioural condition 14%.

Satisfaction with the bus driver

Time given to get to the seat – 76% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 78% of other passengers.

The greeting/welcome received from the driver – 71% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 72% of other passengers.

Smoothness/freedom from jolting during the journey – 73% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 76% of other passengers.

Safety of the driving – 86 of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 88% of other passengers.

Nearness driver parked bus to the kerb – 92% of disabled passengers were satisfied; the same percentage as other passengers.

Bus driver’s helpfulness/attitude – 72% of disabled passengers were satisfied compared to 73% of other passengers.

Bus drivers appearance – 89% of disabled passengers were satisfied. The same percentage as other passengers.

Value for money and overall satisfaction with the journey

59% of disabled passengers were satisfied with value for money compared to 64% of other passengers. 24% of disabled passengers were dissatisfied compared to 19% of other passengers.

Overall satisfaction with the journey amongst disabled passengers’ stands at 87% compared to 88% amongst other passengers. 5% of disabled passengers were dissatisfied, compared to 4% of other passengers.