Next week, Policy Connect, as part of the National Centre for Accessible Transport, is launching the first inquiry report of the Accessible Transport Policy Commission: Joined Up Policies, Joined Up Journeys: Roadmapping Accessible Transport in the UK and devolved nations.

Over the past year, the Commission has examined the legislative, regulatory and policy landscape across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Through evidence sessions and a UK-wide call for evidence, the inquiry engaged over 800 transport professionals, policymakers, disabled people, disabled people’s organisations and disability charities, and researchers.

The report found that disabled people’s experiences of transport are location, disability, and economic background dependent, and disabled people overall struggle to make door-to-door journeys due to five key policy gaps:

1. The UK lacks coherent and coordinated inclusive transport strategies.
2. A lack of integration between different transport modes and services.
3. Accessible transport standards are fragmented and limited.
4. A lack of coproduction in decision making processes.
5. Transport regulators do not have enough powers, capacity and visibility.

In response, the report sets out five-year roadmaps for each of the four nations of the UK. While tailored to each nation’s context, the roadmaps are built on four shared priorities:

1. Joined-up policymaking across the UK while respecting devolved powers.
2. Stronger accessibility standards.
3. Genuine coproduction with disabled people at every stage, using formal advisory groups at local and national levels.
4. Stronger and transparency regulation.

The report will be published alongside the launch event on 9 September.

For more information, you can get in touch with the report author Gurur Deniz Uyanık deniz.uyanik [at] policyconnect.org.uk.