Are we nearly there yet?

A Transport Paper by

Falkirk Disability Access Panel

September 2014

This paper has been written by Sonia McLay,

Member of the Scottish National Access Survey Team

&

Falkirk Area Disability Access Panel

Disclaimer

The report contains information about access for people with a disability and their rights. The information, and recommendation in this report is not advice, and should not be

treated as such.

You must not rely on the information in the report as an alternative to legal or other

forms of advice from an appropriately qualified professional.

If you have any specific questions about any matter in this report you should consult an

appropriately qualified professional.

The suppliers given in the Appendices are merely included to illustrate best practice and

the type of accessible aides available to you , once again please seek appropriate advice

from an appropriately qualified professional.

Contact Details

Sonia McLay Coordinator

Falkirk Area Disability Access Panel 18 Culmore Place

Hallglen

Falkirk

FK1 2RP Tel: 01324-880498

Mob: 07730447212 : https://www.facebook.com/fadap

Don't be fedup - Join FADAP

© Sonia McLay (FADAP) Wednesday, 08 October 2014

1 Introduction | Are we nearly there yet? October 2014

Executive Summary

This report has been written by Sonia McLay, coordinator or Falkirk Area Disability Access Panel ( FADAP) with comments from our members. The report details the

challenges experienced by local people with a disability/ impairment in the Falkirk Area

and provides an overview of their experience on buses, trains and taxis, and more.

The report has been written in 3 sections.

The users perspective ~ to illustrate the challenges that people with a disability

encounter on buses, trains and taxis in the Falkirk Area.

Examples of best practice and campaigns in the UK such as talking buses, talking bus

stops and the safer journey card.

Recommendations for Falkirk Council and other areas in Scotland to adopt best

practice to assist people with a disability to live more independent lives.

The report also includes

Examples of best practice from across the UK.

Our recommendations.

An appeal to local councils and the Scottish Government and

Links to the relevant websites for more information about talking bus stops and good practice are at the end of the report.

2 Introduction | Are we nearly there yet? October 2014

1. Introduction

Public transport and taxis play a vital role in enabling disabled people, including those

who are blind or partially-sighted, to live more independent lives. But the worry of not being sure if you have got on the right bus, where you are on your journey, or when

your stop is coming up, puts many people off using them.

2. The user’s perspective ~ Buses, Trains and Taxis

Buses for deafblind people ~the facts

Deafblind people have difficulties identifying a particular bus out of three that is

coming past the home.

Deafblind people have difficulties knowing when a particular destination has been

reached.

Deafblind people have difficulties locating a vacant seat.

Deafblind people need assistance from the bus driver/ conductor handling the bus

pass, verbal guidance to a seat, reached the destination, etc.

I heard about a 'Talking Bus' being trialled out somewhere in the south of England.

Michael’s reference to talking buses is detailed in section 2 of the report. Source: Excerpt from a deafblind person's perspective by Michael Anderson FADAP

Buses for wheelchair users ~ the facts

“Today I was denied entry onto two buses. The first one already had a wheelchair

aboard. That is understandable! The second looked suitable but the lowered floor did not

have a ramp which is required for my powered chair. There was no way I could tell this from the appearance of the vehicle.”

I suggest that perhaps a bus should have a code on the front eg

Code A might have a platform suitable for a manual chair,

Code B might have the lowered platform complete with ramp suitable for a powered

chair,

Code C to indicate the absence of either i.e. no wheelchair access.

A list of buses with code a, b & c could be made available so that wheelchair users could

select suitable buses rather than take pot luck!

Source: Excerpt from Wheelchair user’s perspective by Jennie McCartney FADAP

Taxis for wheelchair users the facts Since a change in council policy on new taxis I have experienced endless frustration in

getting a wheel chair accessible (wav) taxi when I need one, these is now a shortage of

wav taxis in the Falkirk area and it is impacting my social life and ability to live

independently, and has an enormous impact on other disabled taxi users.

I would like to raise the following points:

1. As the number of wavs in any company declines, so the remaining wav drivers'

workload increases. The drivers are becoming disillusioned by the lack of support

and incentives available to them.

3 Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAV) ~ the facts | Are we nearly there yet?

October 2014

2. During holiday seasons, an increasing number of wavs are off the road. Not all

companies own their own wavs. If more taxi firms were encouraged to do so, they could employ drivers who could work on a rota thus covering the absence of

drivers on holiday. Companies often do not own the vehicles & have no

jurisdiction over when their drivers work.

3. One proposal is for councils/Scot Govt to subsidise wav taxi drivers in order to

encourage them to maintain these vehicles since they do tend to work harder

loading and unloading wheelchairs especially in poor weather.

Source: Excerpt from Wheelchair user’s perspective by Jennie McCartney FADAP

Travelling by Train from a deafblind person's perspective ~the facts

Travelling by train is much simpler in that the destination of the train and name of the

stations are announced just before arrival, they stop at specific stations.

This enables a deafblind person can determine where the train is, there are internal

announcements to indicate which station has been reached (sometimes these announcements may not always be clearly spoken out by train crew), and locating

vacant seats is a little simpler.

Baroness Kramer is the new Minister responsible for buses at the Department for

Transport (DfT). One of the first things she will be doing in her new role is responding to

the Transport Select Committee's recommendation to make all

Source: Excerpt from a deafblind person's perspective by Michael Anderson FADAP

3. Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAV) ~ the facts

There are 2 types of WAVs: side entry and rear entry vehicle access

This paper draws attention to Rear Entry WAVs which are commonly used in the Falkirk

Area.

A rear-entry configuration can be used for attended

applications in which the wheelchair occupant is not driving the vehicle but rather riding as a passenger.

One advantage of a rear-entry vehicle is that, with

the exception of parallel parking, no extra room is

required for a ramp and the side passenger doors

aren’t blocked if a folding-style ramp is installed.

In addition, mid-passenger seats can be mounted next to the wheelchair position. Other advantages

include more ground clearance and more room for

long wheelchairs and/or leg rests.

Limitations of the rear-entry style are the requirement to enter and exit from a traffic

area, the inability to drive from the wheelchair and/or have the wheelchair in the front

passenger position, and less storage space.

Challenges for WAV users

Since taking delivery of our latest motability vehicle, we have encountered a number of

challenges. Whilst we appreciate there are many disabled parking spaces available

throughout the Falkirk and Polmont area, a lot of disabled spaces aren't in fact suitable

for certain types of wheelchair accessible vehicles.

4 Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAV) ~ the facts | Are we nearly there yet?

October 2014

In particular, the Howgate multi storey car park is not suitable for our vehicle (a Citroen

Berlingo WAV). We appreciate the Howgate Shopping Centre and multi storey were built in the 1980s and motor vehicles have evolved through the decades and recent changes

should now be taken into account.

Unless people like myself or my husband encounter such difficulties, such issues won't

be considered when buildings are being constructed or vehicles are being designed Excerpt from Kay Wrights Letter to Council November 2013

In essence WAV vehicles need longer parking bays located in safe places to enable the

passenger to disembark from the back of the vehicle.

FADAP Perspective of a WAV owner ~the facts

George Williamson ~ Chairman of FADAP suffers from MS and also has a Wheelchair

Accessible Vehicle (WAV), he relies on his wife Diane to drive him around. FADAP / George have also used WAV Taxis on occasion to attend meetings, SDEF conferences

and training courses.

George & Diane have encountered the same challenges as The Wrights esp. in Asda

Falkirk Forth Valley Royal Hospital where he has regular appointments, & on street

parking in Falkirk Town Centre.

Working with the council In January 2014 FADAP received an initial enquiry from Frank McChord, Community

Planning Team Falkirk Council. regards the letter and comments from Kay Wright.

FADAP members looked at this and conferred with our chairman George Williamson .

FADAP responded to the initial enquiry from Frank McChord, with the following

suggestions.

Further to our conversation this morning I am pleased to hear that you have raised Mrs

Wright’s concerns with Roads and Parks Dept.

With regard to parking issues I have spoken to our Chairman George Williamson. George also has MS and uses a wheelchair accessible vehicle and ramp similar to the

one that Mrs Wight mentions. ( rear entry system)

George confirmed that he encounters similar access problems with regard to parking and

alighting from the vehicle to those mentioned in the letter.

One idea we would like to propose is the following:

For council to adapt existing disabled car parking spaces on the ground floor of the Howgate centre which allow safe access and egress from the rear of the vehicle. (such

as those used by Mrs Wright).

This would require lengthening the area around and behind the car parking space by 1.2

– 1.5 m as per the attached picture.

Other spaces like this could be easily adapted at the rear of the Howgate centre in Baxters Wynd, Vicar Street and the Cow Wynd.

As a group we are happy to attend site meetings to assist with

any access assessments now and in the future.

I hope this information is helpful.

5 Passenger transport | Are we nearly there yet? October 2014

Requirements for WAV parking bays

The reply from Falkirk Council’s Development Services Representative was not so positive ,

We will provide comments to Frank to allow him to reply to Mrs Wright. You may not be aware but the Howgate car park is not managed by Falkirk

Council but is a private car park managed by the Howgate Mall company. The

Council's public car parks can be found on the Council's web pages.

All on street disabled spaces must comply with national roads legislation as far

as road markings and signs are concerned. The diagram you indicate in your

email is not permitted on the public road and only applies to off street car park or other private areas.

Disabled markings on the public road must comply with the Traffic Signs

Regulations and General Directions 2002 and The Traffic Signs Manual. Chapter

5 of the Traffic Signs Manual can be searched for online and gives diagrams for

the permitted road markings for disabled spaces amongst others

Source email from Russell Steedman, Network Co-ordinator, Development Services

Tel 01324 504830 14th January 2014

FADAP progress and action update on wav parking

From this initial conversation George has become the FADAP champion on WAV

parking and has contacted the Hospital and Roads Departments to enquire about

suitable provision of WAV parking. He will be meeting representatives from the

Roads Department to illustrate the:

1. Frustration encountered by wav drivers// passengers with rear mounted

entry systems:

2. Limitations of the rear-entry style are the requirement to enter and exit from

a traffic area, the inability to drive from the wheelchair and/or have the

wheelchair in the front passenger position, and less storage space.

Sonia is also researching information about Wav Parking Bays and has contacted the Chartered institute of The Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation

(CIHT) for any comments / information they may have.

4. Passenger transport

A member of Fife Disabilities (Kate Hall) recently shared her unfortunate e

experience on patient transport in the Fife Area. In essence the support worker

was abrupt, clearly lacked the empathy and sincerity needs to work with this group of people and was rude to Kate and her mother who was travelling as

Kate Personal assistant (+1). The FDADAP members have no direct experience

of patient transport and are unable to comment at the time of the report,

however we hope and trust the Falkirk’s patient Transport provision is supportive

of people with a disability / impairment.

5. Examples of best practice in the UK

Talking buses and bus stops may seem a thing of the future but there are

already trials and models of best practices underway in areas of the UK.

2 examples are talking bus stops and the safer journey cards issued by Firstbus

in the Falkirk Area.

6 | Are we nearly there yet? October 2014

6. Talking Bus Stops for the Blind

Guide Dogs is campaigning for a change in the law to make audio and visual

information including audible announcements of the current stop, next stop and final destination – available on board bus and coach services across the UK.

This will enable blind and partially-sighted people to use buses with confidence,

and improve the experience of bus travel for all passengers.

Best Practice ~Talking Bus Stops

Brighton and Hove City Council introduced over 20 'talking bus stops' for blind

and visually impaired passengers in 2007. The scheme has made a big difference to users, giving them greater confidence and independence to travel by bus.

How the Brighton and Hove talking bus stops scheme works:

People using the scheme have a battery-operated key fob which alerts them

when they are near one of the talking bus stops.

By pressing the fob the bus stop ‘talks’ to them, giving them details of which

services are due, and where they are going to.

The bus stops have won several national awards for innovation and promotion

of accessibility.

Additional funding has now enabled a further 20 talking bus stops to be

installed across the City taking the total number of units to 42.

Talking Bus Stops - where are they in the City?

a full list of the existing talking bus stops in Brighton & Hove is available on the website.

A leaflet about the system can also be downloaded from the web : Talking

Bus Stop Leaflet.[pdf]

Michael Anderson, & Sonia McLay members of FADAP, attended the Techshare

Europe conference on 4 – 5th September In Glasgow September and one of the

many items that was presented the 'Talking Bus', it was interesting to hear

what it is and how it operates.

7. Conclusion

Public transport and taxis play a vital role in enabling disabled people, including

those who are blind or partially-sighted, to live more independent lives. More

must be done in Scotland to enable this to happen now and in the future. The

single public sector equality duty under the Equalities Act 2010 requires public

authorities to: Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation

Advance equality of opportunity

Foster good relations

With this duty in mind FADAP have prepared a list of recommendations, which

are detailed in the next section of the report

We would like to encourage transport providers in the Falkirk Area to adopt these recommendations and move forward to enable people with a disability /

impairment to travel and enjoy a better quality of life with a bespoke / fully

accessible public transport system and accessible taxi provision.

7 Recommendations | Are we nearly there yet? October 2014

8. Recommendations

Our recommendations in this report are presented in 2 parts

1. Moving forward on Public Transport

2. Provision of WAV parking bays in the Falkirk Area

Moving forward on Public Transport

Staff on buses, trains and taxi companies should be trained in disability

awareness, and be able to assist the disabled travellers.

Disabled people could be issued with a card / booklet that they can present to

the driver of the bus/ train which details their disability and the type of assistance they need. First Bus in Central Scotland have issued safer

journey cards in the Falkirk area, these cards are available from the

sensory centre , and other outlets..

Buses should have a code on the front to identify their accessibility. E.g

Code A has a platform suitable for a manual chair,

Code B has the lowered platform complete with ramp suitable for a powered

chair,

Code C to indicate the absence of either i.e. no wheelchair access.

A list of buses with codes a, b & c could be made available so that wheelchair

users could select suitable buses rather than take pot luck.

Councils should always consider their obligations under the equalities act

2010 when setting new / revised policies on the provision of public transport

including trains, buses, taxis and parking

One proposal is for Councils/Scottish Government to subsidise WAV taxi

drivers in order to encourage them to maintain these vehicles since they do

tend to work harder loading and unloading wheelchairs especially in poor

weather.

8 | Are we nearly there yet? October 2014

FADAP recommendations for WAV parking:

1. Future new developments / alterations to parking areas should include a minimum of 4 wav parking spaces within the vicinity of other disabled

parking bays. WAV provision must also be situated at an area out of the flow

of traffic to enable WAV users and passengers to disembark safely in the

future.

2. The dimensions of WAV parking bays will differ from the standard disabled

bays and must include ample provision for the ramps at the back of the vehicle and space for the passenger to disembark from the rear of the

Vehicle.

3. Councils, and other parking providers such as hospitals, hotels and retailers

must be made aware of the limitations for WAV users i.e.

4. Limitations of the rear-entry style are the requirement to enter and exit from

a traffic area, the inability to drive from the wheelchair and/or have the

wheelchair in the front passenger position, and less storage space.

a. Source : http://ablemagazine.co.uk/buyingguide/car-conversions/

5. There is also scope for FADAP to offer accessibility assessments at the

design stage or new developments/ alterations to sites

6. In essence WAV vehicles need longer parking bays located in safe places to

enable the passenger to disembark from the back of the vehicle. Wav parking

bays must be adapted / redesigned for future developments as follows:

For council to adapt existing disabled car parking spaces that allow safe

access and egress from the rear of the WAV. (Such as those used by Mrs

Wright/ George Williamson).

This would require lengthening the area around and behind the car parking

space by 1.2 – 1.5 m as per the attached picture.

Figure 1

Dimensions for Disabled Spaces

Figure 2

WAV Frontview

Figure 3

WAV with Ramp in Use

Other spaces like this could be easily adapted at the rear of the Howgate centre in Baxters Wynd, Vicar Street and the Cow Wynd.

While there are no set criteria for WAV parking bays at present i am aware

that The Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT) are

developing best practice on inclusive design. They are meeting government

officials to raise the matter of inclusive design and the dimensions of

appropriate parking for mobility vehicles, disabled bays and WAV parking spaces.

9 Closing comment! | Are we nearly there yet? October 2014

9. Closing comment!

As members of the disabled community in Scotland and representatives of

FADAP we are asking you to consider reviewing council and government policies, and treat people with disabilities/ impairments with the care and consideration

they deserve.

10 Closing comment! | Are we nearly there yet? October 2014

Appendix 1

Websites for referral

Talking Buses http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/supportus/campaigns/t

alkingbuses/how-you-can-help-the-talking-buses-

campaign/#.U-2dpmOX_BY

Talking

Bus Stops

http://www.journeyon.co.uk/talking-bus-stops

Safer Journey Cards http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/scotland_east/bus_

access/safe_journey_card/

Brighton and Hove

Project

To enquire about the system or apply for a keyfob,

please contact the Access Point Team (01273) 295555

accesspoint@brighton-hove.gov.uk

http://www.journeyon.co.uk/talking-bus-stops

The Chartered

Institution of Highways

& Transportation (CIHT)

http://www.ciht.org.uk/