Since the Accessibility Summit in March 2015, Transport Scotland has facilitated the work of a Steering Group to create Scotland’s first Accessible Travel Framework.
The Steering Group includes membership from disabled people’s organisations, disability organisations, transport providers, local councils and professional bodies.
The Framework has been co-produced through the Steering Group. This means it represents the product of effort on the part of disabled people, their representative organisations, transport providers and government.
The Framework will last for 10 years and includes:
- A vision and outcomes for travel accessibility in Scotland,
- A new governance process that brings disabled people, their organisations, transport providers and government together to drive forward accessibility improvements,
- New engagement mechanisms to ensure we know how accessible travel in Scotland is for disabled people, and that disabled people’s concerns are being responded to
- An action plan directly tackling the 48 separate issues raised by disabled people and discussed in groups at the Summit.
Many of the specific actions committed to in the Framework are about all types of transport. Examples are those actions focusing on the quality of accessible information for people planning and making a journey, including during times of disruption.
In addition, some of the issues rose by disabled people and tackled in the document concern only specific modes of travel, like on improving guidance on accessible bus design.