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Accessible transport: legal obligations

Status: Closed Opened: 2 Feb 2023 Closed: 4 Mar 2026 18 recommendations 11 conclusions 1 report

A variety of legal obligations to ensure accessibility apply to transport operators and local licensing authorities across different modes of transport, and the Transport Committee has conducted an inquiry into these legal obligations and whether they are being met. The Committee published their report on Thursday 20 March 2025 Read the report Read the large … Show more

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Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
1st Report – Access denied: rights versus reality in disabl… HC 770 20 Mar 2025 29 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

7 items
10 Conclusion 1st Report – Access denied: rights vers… Acknowledged

Ticket office closure proposals wasted resources and inappropriately burdened disabled rail users.

Despite all the mechanisms in place to safeguard accessibility, proposals which risked significantly damaging disabled people’s access to the rail network by closing hundreds of ticket offices were published in 2023 and only withdrawn after a huge response to public consultation. This was a waste of time and resources and … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government agrees that effective governance, transparency, and meaningful consultation are fundamental aspects of accountable government, acknowledging the principles behind the committee's observation regarding ticket office closures.
Read full response →
Department for Transport
14 Recommendation 1st Report – Access denied: rights vers… Acknowledged

Embed accessibility as a core goal for Great British Railways in forthcoming legislation.

The establishment of Great British Railways presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix accessibility as a core goal and responsibility of the railway and as a guiding principle for its decision-making. The opportunity must not be squandered, and we urge the Government in bringing forward its legislation to consider the full … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government states that focused work will continue on the design of Great British Railways over the next 12-18 months, including how accessibility will be approached within its customer-focused culture, but does not explicitly commit to fixing accessibility as a core goal through a full …
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Department for Transport
15 Conclusion 1st Report – Access denied: rights vers… Acknowledged

Transport systems and staffing lack sufficient resilience for complex accessibility requirements.

Operators are at pains to emphasise the complexity of the systems they work within, especially when it comes to journeys involving multiple organisations or modes. But people are entitled to expect to be able to make complicated journeys to get where they need to go; disabled people are no different. … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government states it has already begun developing an Integrated National Transport Strategy focused on delivering seamless and accessible journeys for all users. This strategy aims to make transport user-focused, safe, inclusive, and reliable.
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Department for Transport
20 Recommendation 1st Report – Access denied: rights vers… Acknowledged

Establish a unified service with disabled people to receive and triage transport accessibility complaints.

We recommend that the Department for Transport work with disabled people’s organisations to design a unified service to receive and triage accessibility complaints or reports of failures, ensure that they reach the relevant operator, authority or regulator, and follow them up if not resolved. Such a service would require an … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government highlights existing work to improve information on rights and redress, and commits to exploring how complaints processes and escalation routes could be simplified, but does not commit to designing or implementing a unified complaints service within the specified timeframe.
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Department for Transport
21 Recommendation 1st Report – Access denied: rights vers… Acknowledged

Analyse complaint data to identify systemic issues and report quarterly on service improvements.

Users of such a service must receive assurance that information about complaints and failures is being aggregated and used proactively to improve systems and services, not just to effect redress to the individual. In order to achieve this, the Department should: • analyse information gathered through this mechanism both to … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the complexity of complaints and has worked to improve information for disabled people. It commits to undertaking further work to explore and assess how complaints processes can be simplified, including mapping processes with stakeholders to identify how data use and transparency can …
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Department for Transport
26 Conclusion 1st Report – Access denied: rights vers… Acknowledged

Informal enforcement methods by regulators prove insufficient for addressing systemic accessibility failures.

The confidence that regulators evince in informal methods of enforcement and its deterrent effect on other operators is not justified by the experience of travellers. We recognise that reputational incentives such as performance rankings have a part to play, as do informal collaboration and education, but failure to adhere to … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government agrees on the importance of regulators fulfilling their accessibility duties and will reiterate this in annual leadership letters. It intends to establish a collaborative forum to identify practical steps to improve accountability and strengthen enforcement mechanisms, and to co-produce an accessibility charter.
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Department for Transport
28 Recommendation 1st Report – Access denied: rights vers… Acknowledged

Mandate regulators with resources to proactively enforce accessibility laws and publish breach data.

The Secretary of State should immediately give regulators an explicit mandate, backed by the necessary resources, to be far more proactive within the scope of their current powers in identifying and enforcing against breaches of accessibility law and regulations by operators. The Department 79 should set annual reporting requirements for … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government agrees on the importance of enforcing accessibility duties and, as a first step, will reiterate these duties in annual leadership directive letters to Arm's-length Bodies and agencies. The Department also envisages co-producing an accessibility charter.
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Department for Transport

Oral evidence sessions

5 sessions
Date Witnesses
13 Dec 2023 Anthony Browne · Department for Transport, Guy Opperman · Department for Transport, Huw Merriman · Department for Transport, John Kirkpatrick · Equality and Human Rights Commission, Liz Wilson · Department for Transport View ↗
22 Nov 2023 Anna Bowles · Civil Aviation Authority, Councillor Linda Taylor · Local Government Association, Jacqueline Starr · Rail Delivery Group, Karen Dee · Airport Operators Association, Loveday Ryder · DVSA, Mr Keith McNally · Confederation of Passenger Transport, Ms Alison Smith · Network Rail and Great British Railways Transition Team, Rob Griggs · Airlines UK, Stephanie Tobyn · Office of Rail and Road View ↗
25 Oct 2023 Caroline Stickland · Transport for All, Catherine Casserley · Cloisters Chambers, Doug Paulley, Accessible transport campaigner, Professor Anna Lawson · School of Law, University of Leeds, Stephen Brookes MBE · Disability Rights UK View ↗
13 Sep 2023 Andy Mellors · Avanti West Coast, Anthony Smith · Transport Focus, Christopher Brooks · Age UK, David Horne · London and North Eastern Railway Company, Katie Pennick · Transport for All, Louise Rubin · Scope, Mick Lynch · National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers (RMT), Richard Allan · Chiltern Railways, Simon Moorhead · Rail Delivery Group, Stephanie Tobyn · Office of Rail and Road View ↗
14 Jun 2023 Alan Benson MBE, Christiane Link, Stephen Anderson, The Baroness Grey-Thompson DBE View ↗

Who gave evidence

32 witnesses
WitnessOrganisationSessions
Stephanie Tobyn · Director of Strategy, Policy and Reform Office of Rail and Road 2
Alan Benson MBE — 1
Andy Mellors · Managing Director Avanti West Coast 1
Anna Bowles · Head of Consumer Policy and Enforcement Civil Aviation Authority 1
Anthony Browne · Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Department for Transport 1
Anthony Smith · Chief Executive Transport Focus 1
Caroline Stickland · Chief Executive Officer Transport for All 1
Catherine Casserley · Barrister Cloisters Chambers 1
Christiane Link — 1
Christopher Brooks · Head of Policy Age UK 1
Councillor Linda Taylor · Vice Chair, Local Infrastructure and Net Zero Boa… Local Government Association 1
David Horne · Managing Director London and North Eastern Railway Company 1
Doug Paulley, Accessible transport campaigner — 1
Guy Opperman · Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Roads … Department for Transport 1
Huw Merriman · Minister of State for Rail Department for Transport 1
Jacqueline Starr · Chief Executive Rail Delivery Group 1
John Kirkpatrick · Deputy Chief Executive Officer Equality and Human Rights Commission 1
Karen Dee · Chief Executive Airport Operators Association 1
Katie Pennick · Campaigns and Communications Manager Transport for All 1
Liz Wilson · Deputy Director, Accessibility, Coaches, Taxis an… Department for Transport 1
Louise Rubin · Head of Policy and Campaigns Scope 1
Loveday Ryder · Chief Executive DVSA 1
Mick Lynch · General Secretary National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers (RMT) 1
Mr Keith McNally · Operations Director Confederation of Passenger Transport 1
Ms Alison Smith · Accessibility and Inclusion Lead Network Rail and Great British Railways Transition Team 1
Professor Anna Lawson · Professor of Law School of Law, University of Leeds 1
Richard Allan · Managing Director Chiltern Railways 1
Rob Griggs · Policy and Public Affairs Director Airlines UK 1
Simon Moorhead · Chief Information Officer Rail Delivery Group 1
Stephen Anderson — 1
Stephen Brookes MBE · Rail Policy Advisor Disability Rights UK 1
The Baroness Grey-Thompson DBE — 1

Correspondence

19 letters
DateDirectionTitle
21 Jan 2026 To cttee Letter from the Minister for Rail relating to accessibility at stations, dated …
2 Jul 2025 To cttee Letter from the Secretary of State for Transport relating to the Government res…
13 Jun 2025 To cttee Letter from the Chair to the Secretary of State for Transport relating to the G…
21 Feb 2024 — Correspondence from the Minister for Maritime International and Security relati…
21 Feb 2024 — Correspondence from the Deputy Chief Executive, EHRC relating to accessible tra…
21 Feb 2024 — Correspondence from Chair to Minister for Maritime International and Security, …
24 Jan 2024 — Correspondence from the Operations Director, Confederation of Passenger Transpo…
17 Jan 2024 — Correspondence from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for …
17 Jan 2024 — Correspondence from the Traffic Commissioner relating to Public Service Vehicle…
22 Nov 2023 — Correspondence from the Minister for Rail, Department for Transport, relating t…
15 Nov 2023 — Correspondence from the Managing Director, Chiltern Railways relating to rail t…
23 Oct 2023 — Correspondence from the Chair of the Committee to the Minister for Rail relatin…
20 Oct 2023 — Correspondence from the Chief Information Officer, Rail Delivery Group relating…
20 Oct 2023 — Correspondence from the Managing Director, Chiltern Railways relating to rail t…
20 Oct 2023 — Correspondence from the Managing Director, Avanti West Coast Railways relating …
20 Oct 2023 — Correspondence from the Managing Director, LNER relating to rail ticket office …
19 Sep 2023 — Correspondence from the Chief Executive, LNER, relating to Accessible transport…
12 Sep 2023 — Correspondence from the Rail Minister relating to rail ticket offices, dated 11…
12 Sep 2023 — Correspondence from Chair to the Rail Minister relating to rail ticket offices,…