Source · Select Committees · Transport Committee
Recommendation 19
19
Accepted
Disabled people face an unreasonable burden when pursuing transport accessibility complaints.
Conclusion
An unreasonable burden is currently placed on disabled people themselves in holding transport operators and authorities to account for fulfilling their duties. Legal action is rarely a practical option for most individuals, so it is especially important that complaints processes are made more accessible and effective. The user should not have to be an expert either in the law or in organisational structures across varied transport modes to know whether they have a valid complaint, to whom it should be addressed, how to contact that body and how to escalate the complaint if necessary. In the long term, there may be a case for rationalising the number of organisations who deal with transport accessibility complaints, but in the meantime, a unified ‘front of house’ service could make a meaningful difference to users. We note plans to establish a passenger standards authority in the rail sector, but this covers just one mode of transport and will not be an accessibility-specific body. (Conclusion, Paragraph 104) 77
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the complexity of complaints processes and is already working with disabled people's groups to improve information. It will undertake further work to explore simplifying complaints processes and escalation routes across modes, starting with assessing bus complaints pathways.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The inquiry highlighted the complexity of complaints processes across transport modes and operators, and the Department has already been working with disabled people’s representative groups to improve the information available to people about their rights and where to seek redress. The Department partnered with the charity Scope to support their production of Right to Ride a one-stop transport rights guide that covers all land based public transport that operates in Great Britain including train, bus, coach, taxi and private hire vehicles. The Department will undertake further work to explore how complaints processes and escalation routes could be simplified through internal review and collaboration with relevant bodies. It is intended that this work will focus on how it may be possible to improve signposting people to the right channels and reduce the burden on individuals in having to navigate complex systems. This work presents an opportunity to consider how improved complaints systems may also benefit operators through more efficient processes and complaints handling, supporting a virtuous circle of transparency, efficiency, and accountability. The Department has begun work to assess the efficacy of current bus complaints pathways, and it is our intention to engage Transport Focus and other relevant complaints and dispute resolution bodies to map complaints processes and identify potential areas to achieve better efficiencies, including how data use and transparency can be captured, collated and published to promote accountability.