The National Centre for Accessible Transport (ncat)’s Accessible Transport Policy Commission has launched an inquiry aimed at developing a policy and regulation roadmap for accessible transport in the UK. 

The Inquiry will set out actionable recommendations for the UK Government and the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales to make transport more accessible for disabled people. It will also develop a strategic roadmap to guide the future activities of the Accessible Transport Policy Commission and the wider ncat, both of which are funded by the Motability Foundation.

The inquiry will examine a range of topics including different modes of transport (rail, road, sea, air), active travel (cycling, walking, wheeling), and examine the commitments made by policymakers in each of these areas. The project will explore themes of devolution and transport policy, regulation, and co-production with disabled people.

This new inquiry follows the Accessible Transport Policy Commission’s launch of the ‘Accessible Transport Charter' earlier this year. The Charter, available here, calls on local and regional political leaders to register their commitment to making transport accessible for disabled people by closing the transport accessibility gap.

To gather evidence, the Commission will host a series of online roundtables, chaired by Parliamentarians. These sessions will bring together disabled individuals, disabled people's organisations, transport professionals, and policymakers from across the country:

• The evidence session for Wales took place on Tuesday 17 September and was chaired by Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson. Speakers included Andrea Gordon (Guide Dogs Cymru), Mark Jones (Gig Buddies Cymru), and Dr Robert Gravelle (Transport for Wales).
• England’s evidence session was chaired by Lord Shinkwin on Thursday 19 September. The online roundtable featured contributions from Emma Vogelmann (Transport for All), Antoneta Horbury (Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation), and Claire Walters (Bus Users UK).
• Details of our evidence sessions on Scotland and Northern Ireland, and our UK-wide roundtable, will be released shortly.

The inquiry will launch a public Call for Evidence later in the autumn. You can sign up to ncat's Community of Accessible Transport to be notified when the Call has been published online. To receive the Call in an alternative format, please contact Gurur Deniz Uyanık (deniz.uyanik [at] policyconnect.org.uk) or Clive Gilbert (clive.gilbert [at] policyconnect.org.uk (clive[dot]gilbert[at]policyconnect[dot]org[dot]uk)).

The report will be published in early 2025.

To find out more about the inquiry please contact Gurur Deniz Uyanık (deniz.uyanik [at] policyconnect.org.uk (deniz[dot]uyanik[at]policyconnect[dot]org[dot]uk)).