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Feb

Last Updated: 15/02/2024

Disability group forum raises concerns about ‘hit and miss’ travel in Harrogate district

by Lauren Ryan

| 16 Feb, 2024

Disability Action Yorkshire round table meeting chaired by Andrew Jones MP

Transport leaders and politicians heard disabled people raise concerns about public transport in the Harrogate district at an event organised by Disability Action Yorkshire.

The Harrogate-based charity hosted a round-table event last week about accessibility challenges and ways of tackling them.

The event, chaired by Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones, included leaders from Leeds Bradford Airport, LNER, Northern, Transdev and North Yorkshire Council.

It enabled disabled passengers to express their concerns about their daily travel challenges and regional operators to outline their plans to improve accessibility.

Jeremy Dunsford, a member of Ripon Disability Forum, said:

“There’s no doubt that travel across the region can be somewhat of a hit and miss experience. The key thing is connectivity. Operators need to work closely together to use information in an intelligent way, so the entire passenger journey runs smoothly and seamlessly.”

One attendee said she can regularly travel to London on business with no challenges, but the journey was difficult when she travelled with her 13-year-old disabled son. There had been times when there was no support getting him on and off trains, and the pair were once stranded when the train terminated before its original planned destination.

Richard Isaac, community manager (eastern area) at rail operator Northern, invited her and her son to meet representatives from the company to address her concerns.

Darren Allsopp, stakeholder manager at Northern, said:

“We certainly recognise the importance of connectivity and I firmly believe things are getting better. For example, train operators are working more closely with bus operators and it’s only a matter of time before passengers will start to see the improvements which are vital for a seamless journey.”

Gareth Bentley said North Yorkshire Council was currently undertaking an inclusive survey plan to assess how accessibility can be improved for taxi users.

He said:

“We know there’s an issue with accessibility. There’s no easy solution but we’ll bring all the different parties together to do everything we can to improve things. We’re 100% behind trying to resolve the issue. For example, we’ve recently introduced a new training programme for drivers.”

Mr Jones said it had been "an extremely lively and valuable forum", adding:

“There are many things to take away and I sincerely hope the dialogue will continue between all parties concerned to ensure the important issue of passenger accessibility remains at the top of the transport agenda.”

Jackie Snape, chief executive of Disability Action Yorkshire, added:

“The experience of disabled people travelling on public transport is an ongoing issue and one which we focus on in a lot of our activities across the region. I’m extremely grateful that the travel operators have taken time out of their busy schedules to join us for what has been an extremely useful and constructive discussion.”

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