Overview The Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS) was established in 2002 and is an advisory non departmental public body. The Convener and Members are appointed by the Minister for Transport and the Islands. MACS was formally constituted under section 72 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001. Prior to this advice was provided by the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) on a UK wide basis and there was no equivalent Scottish body. The role of MACS is set out in the Act as being to: consider matters about the needs of disabled persons in connection with transport that the committee think
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Platform 6/9 footbridge The planning application proposing to convert the existing lattice footbridge on platforms 6/9 into a fully accessible structure has been approved by Stirling Council, subject to conditions which include the reuse of sandstone and handrails on the platform 9/10 stairs reconstruction. The footbridge will be closed from mid-August while engineers prepare the structure for removal and a temporary footbridge will be in use for passengers from this time. The lattice footbridge will be removed for refurbishment and then reinstalled higher above the rails to enable the line underneath to be electrified. It will also be converted into
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Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, Michael Matheson, has today announced that the National Concessionary Travel Scheme will be extended to companions of eligible disabled children aged under five, which could result in over 3000 families and children additionally benefitting from the bus pass. Additionally, Mr Matheson announced that the age of eligibility will not change for the National Concessionary Travel Scheme and that the options to provide free bus travel for Modern Apprentices will continue to be considered. The consultation on the scheme closed in November 2017, with nearly 3000 responses received from people and organisations all across
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The Glasgow 2018 European Championships will be held at venues across Scotland from Thursday 2 August until Sunday 12 August.  This will result in changes for access to Glasgow Queen Street. Glasgow City Council is closing roads across Glasgow to accommodate the 2018 European Championships. While ScotRail train services will be running as normal, there will be temporary changes to the 398 bus service that runs between Glasgow Central, Glasgow Queen Street, and Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station. These changes will be in place on Wednesday 1 August, Sunday 5 August, Wednesday 8 August, Friday 10 August, and Sunday 12 August.
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Summary Report  An event was held in Stirling on 18 May 2018 to discuss the issue of transport in rural areas.  The event brought together disabled people, transport providers and other stakeholders, including local councillors to discuss some of the issues affecting rural areas.  There were 12 participants in total.   Presentations  The event began with a presentation by Emma Scott from Disability Equality Scotland.  Disability Equality Scotland are taking forward some of the actions from the Accessible Travel Framework.  This includes engaging and consulting with disabled people on their experiences of using public transport.  Disability Equality Scotland launched a national survey in
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An app which allows passengers with reduced mobility and hidden disabilities to personalise the assistance they need has been launched at Edinburgh Airport. ‘Welcome’ by Neatebox allows people with disabilities to set up a personal profile and request assistance in advance from facilities and venues which recognise the app, such as Edinburgh Airport. Venues are notified of the request and receive top tips to aid the interaction with the passengers. The app from the Edinburgh-based company, Neatebox, sends a signal to the airport’s Passengers with Reduced Mobility (PRM) reception to notify staff that the passenger is on their way to
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From Sunday 18 March until mid-May, the current entrance to the high-level from Dundas Street will be moved further up the street closer to the Glasgow Subway and low-level entrance. This is to allow for the latest phase of work on the demolition of Consort House. The new temporary entrance will take customers to the high-level via a walk-way running through the old WH Smith unit. This will take passengers out onto the main high-level concourse. We are advising customers to consider using the North Hanover Street entrance to access high-level services, and are encouraging people to leave extra time
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In May 2017, Disability Equality Scotland conducted a national survey on behalf of Transport Scotland.  This was a baseline survey to allow us to gather information about disabled peoples’ experiences of travelling on public transport.  The survey gave us lots of useful information, and some that we want to find out more about. One of the key topics was access to transport information. As a disabled person travelling on public transport, information is crucial to make you feel confident and safe to travel independently.  This information has to be available in an accessible way to be useful to disabled people. 
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As part of our on-going work with Transport Scotland we will be holding an Accessible Transport Summit and an Access Panel Consultation event in Aberdeen on the 20th March 2018. The aim of this event is to bring together representatives from equality groups with transport providers to discuss specific issues relating to travel and transport. This is our opportunity to report back on some of the issues we hear from our members, and to have the chance to discuss ways that providers and disabled people (and other equalities groups) can work together to bring about improvements, in line with the Scottish
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