ORR protects the interests of rail and road users, improving the safety, value and performance of railways and roads today and in the future RSMG 30 January 2020
ORR protects the interests of rail and road users, improving the safety, value and performance of railways and roads today and in the future Improving the experiences of disabled people on the rail network By Chris Casanovas and Ben Hubbard
GSS award winners GSS Best Practice and Impact (BPI)
ORR’ R’s w work k on accessibility A key area of work for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) over the past couple of years has been on accessibility and in particular looking at the experiences of disabled passengers who rely on Assisted Travel. Assisted travel entitle disabled passengers free assistance and plays a crucial role in making the rail network accessible. Want to know more about what we do? Here’s an infographic: https://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/18909/what-we-do-infographic.pdf 4
Lack o of rel eliable da data t to make dec e decisions ns Previously there had been negative press about assisted travel which presented a picture of a scheme that was fundamentally unfit for purpose. A major concern for ORR was the absence of reliable data to support or refute that narrative. As an evidence-based regulator, how can you make the case for change if nobody knows anything! 5
Stru ruct cture of t thi his pr pres esen entatio ion Impact: Used to create new guidance How we built up and for train operators, How this has been developed an and make used to inform policy evidence base recommendations to the whole rail industry Improve the experience of disabled people on the railway 6
Dem Demand f nd for r assistance ce • For the very first time we were able to demonstrate the demand for assistance. • We worked with the rail industry to source data from their admin systems. • These volumes was previously unknown by the rail industry. • In order to provide evidence for public debate, we now publish this data as official statistics every quarter, with supporting factsheets. • In 2018-19, there were 1.3 million booked passenger assists. https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/passenger- experience/passenger-assistance/ 7
Disabled ed P Person Ra RailCards in n circu culatio ion • Similarly, for the first time we were able to demonstrate how many people had a Disabled Persons Railcard. • Again, we worked with the rail industry to source data from their admin systems, and publish this data as official statistics every quarter, with supporting factsheets. • At the end of 2018-19, there were over 239,000 DPRCs in circulation. https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/passenger- experience/disabled-persons-railcards/ 8
As Assist suc ucce cess rate b e by train o n oper perators • We began collecting data from train operators on the number of people they were assisting on their trains or at stations. • Where assistance failed they had to provide us with data on the number of times it had failed and the reasons for the failure using a pre- coded list. 9
Resea earch i h into p passeng enger er e expe perienc ences es o of Passeng enger er A Assist We carried out primary research with almost 10,000 Assisted Travel users over the past couple of years. The survey asks a range of questions, such as: • Types of assistance provided for different accessibility requirements, • If they received all the assistance they requested, • Satisfaction with the assistance provided at the station, • Satisfaction with the booking process. https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20180605094931/ http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/25983/research -into-passenger-experiences-of-passenger-assist-november- 2017.pdf 10
Resea earch i h into p passeng enger er e expe perienc ences es o of Passeng enger er A Assist • It also provides a wealth of other information, such as which types of assistance are most likely to fail and at which types of stations. • This research has be fundamental in helping the rail industry understand a range of information about Assisted Travel users, for example, how often they travel, what types of journeys they make, and whether they travel alone or with a companion. 11
Develo lopment of of an a acce ccessib ibility ility m model l of of G GB ra railways ys • We combined a range of publically available open datasets to develop an accessibility model of GB railways. • This included using the National Rail Enquiry API, ORR station data and other publically available data. • This meant for the first time accessibility at GB stations can be quantified, and the impact on passengers can be measured. • To aid understanding and usability, we developed this into an interactive tool using PowerBI. 12
Othe Ot her r r res esearch ch Research into passenger awareness of assistance travel : • Disabled people’s awareness of the assistance available to them on the rail network; • The barriers to awareness that exist; • Factors that deter disabled people from using the rail network. Research into unbooked assistance (also known as Turn Up and Go) https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.u https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.u k/20180605095147/http://orr.gov.uk/__d k/20180605094905/http://orr.gov.uk/__d ata/assets/pdf_file/0006/25980/a- ata/assets/pdf_file/0008/25982/research- mystery-shop-of-turn-up-and-go-services- into-passenger-awareness-of-assisted- report-november-2017.pdf travel-services-april-2017.pdf 13
Natio tional l l level i l impact: Acc ccessib ible le Travel P l Pol olic icy ( y (ATP) guidance All of this evidence has been used by policy colleagues at ORR to publish new Accessible Travel Policy (ATP) guidance for train and station operators. This guidance outlines the commitments train operators must include in their policies for helping older and disabled people to travel by rail. https://orr.gov.uk/rail/consumers/what-we-do-for-consumers/improving-assisted-travel#guidance 14
Natio tional l l level i l impact: The n new Acc ccessib ible le T Travel P l Pol olic icy (ATP TP) g ) guidance wi will… Strengthen train and station operators’ Reduce the notice period for booking assistance , currently up to 24 hours training of staff in disability awareness , before travel to a minimum of 2 hours including involving disabled people in before travel by April 2022. its delivery and requiring staff to have refresher training at least every two years. Increase the reliability of assistance for disabled and older passengers that book in advance and those that request Improve accessible journey planning assistance at the station, by introducing by standardising key station a new standardised handover process accessibility information on facilities, step-free access and staffing to provide for all GB mainline stations. a better and more accurate picture of Ensure all train companies make it what disabled passengers can expect at easier for passengers to receive each station. redress when booked assistance fails. Involve disabled people in a meaningful way in the development https://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/4 and review of operator policies and 1515/improving-assisted-travel-at-a-glance- summary-july-2019.pdf training 15
Natio tional l l level i l impact: Willia illiams revie iew The ORR were asked to respond to the Williams Rail Review about what more can be done improve the accessibility on the rail network. The Williams Rail Review was established in September 2018 to look at the structure of the whole rail industry and the way passenger rail services are delivered. Policy colleagues were able to recommend significant changes to improve the experiences of disabled passengers on the network, all based on robust evidence. https://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/41396/orr-advice-to-the-williams-rail-review- july-2019.pdf 16
17
Improvin ing t the r relia liability ility of of a assis istance What the data showed: Impact: We were able to use our data to demonstrate Recommendation: improve the reliability of assistance for where assistance is most likely to fail. passengers when getting on or off the train. This has resulted in the development of new protocols at • A key finding was that the successful delivery of stations to improve the reliability of assistance. booked boarding assistance (87% success rate) is consistently better than booked alighting We are currently trialing this new process with train assistance (80% success rate). operators, which if successful, will be rolled out nationally by June 2020. • Nationally around one-in-five (21%) booked assistance users experience a partial or total assistance failure. 18
19
Recommend
More recommend
