Skip to main content

Access Denied

Access Denied: Disabled People’s Struggle for Transport Equality

On 20th March 2025 the Transport Select Committee unveiled a stark report titled "Access Denied: Rights Versus Reality in Disabled People’s Access to Transport." Delivered by Labour MP Ruth Cadbury, this document lays bare the grim realities faced by disabled individuals in the UK—a reality that successive governments have failed to adequately address.


The Grim Reality of Disabled Access

The report paints a troubling picture: inaccessible rail stations, taxi services refusing passengers with assistance dogs, and unreliable passenger assistance at airports and trains. It's a litany of failure that affects every mode of transport. The statistics are damning: 60% of disabled people report frequent travel woes, and over a third avoid travel altogether due to the complexity and safety concerns of current systems. The impact is severe, limiting our access to work, education, healthcare, and social participation.


A Legacy of Inaction

Despite the existence of the Equality Act 2010 and the government’s 2018 inclusive transport strategy, which ambitiously aims for equal access by 2030, progress has been woefully inadequate. These are not just administrative oversights—they represent a fundamental neglect of duty to millions of disabled people.


The Labour Government's Questionable Commitment

While the Labour government now promises change, recent plans to cut Personal Independence Payment (PIP) cast doubt on their commitment to improving disabled people’s lives. PIP often serves as a crucial gateway benefit, enabling disabled individuals to access transport and avoid being housebound. Without it, the promise of improved transport access rings hollow.


Recommendations and Accountability

The report calls for a seismic shift in attitude, recognising transport access as a basic human right. Recommendations include better staff training, sufficient staffing levels, and a single body to oversee accessibility across all transport modes. Yet, given the track record of both current and previous administrations, one must question if these recommendations will lead to real change or merely become more empty promises.


A Call to Action

The Committee has issued a call to action, urging the government to align reality with the rights of disabled people. But given a history of inertia and the looming threat of PIP cuts, skepticism remains warranted. Will the government truly step up, or will disabled individuals continue to face the same barriers and broken promises?

As we reflect on the efforts of advocates like the late Alan Benson, the responsibility falls on all of us to hold the government accountable. 

Only time will tell if this report will serve as a catalyst for genuine reform or just another missed opportunity in the long fight for equality.

Both locally and nationally, The Green Party will be monitoring the progress and campaigning for really inclusive transport for all.

Mark Webster

Disability Officer

The Green Party

(Telford & Wrekin)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Wolf in Reformist Clothing

A Wolf in Reformist Clothing: Dissecting the Structural Ableism of Reform UK's SEND "Vision" As a Green Party Disability Officer with three decades of experience, and as a parent who has spent 15 years battling intransigent local authorities for my neurodivergent son, and others, I watched Richard Tice’s press statement with a familiar, corrosive fury. This is not a blueprint for reform. It is a masterclass in the very structural ableism and neoliberal betrayal that has manufactured the SEND crisis. So come with me, and let’s dissect it with the critical eye that it demands. The Insidious Linguistics of Erasure Tice with his core creed: “Nobody's disabled, people are differently abled.” This phrase is not progressive; it is erasure. It is a feel-good, ablest euphemism designed to sanitise the reality of disability in a society structured against us. Disability is not a matter of “different ability”; it is an interaction between impairment and t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Farage's Cruelty-Autism

Farage's Cruelty & Misinformation on Autism: A Call for Compassion and Truth in Autism Awareness Month - by Mark Webster, Disability Officer with The Green Party Telford and Wrekin  As Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month 2025 draws to a close,  the need for understanding, compassion, and factual discussion about autism and the SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) system has never been more urgent. Yet, Nigel Farage and Reform UK have chosen this crucial moment to spread harmful and inaccurate narratives about autism diagnosis, compounding stigma and misunderstanding for autistic people and their families across the UK. SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) is a blanket term that refers to conditions or difficulties that make it hard for a person to learn or access education compared to others, such as learning disabilities, physical disabilities, or emotional and behavioral challenges.  Farage’s Harmful Claims In a series of recent statemen...
Post a Comment
Read more

LibDem Conference 2025

Following last week's observations of the Reform UK Ltd conference, I had hoped that there would be nothing to report from the Liberal Democrats conference as far as disability is concerned. How wrong was I? While at the conference their leader, Sir Ed Davey, stocked the fires of the hostile environment towards the sick and disabled, using tired old tropes and unsupported figures! See video For istance, Sir Ed, sounding very right wing himself, regurgitated the "fact" that there is widespread fraud by those claiming PIP (Personal Independence Payments) while talking with a radio broadcaster see video While fraud has seen an increase, from 0.0% to 0.4% which is approximately £1.2 billion, and is born out by the governments own 2025 figures. To put that in context, the welfare bill is £303.3 billion per year. Further comparison shows that tax fraud in the UK figures were £48.8 billion a year, and known tax evasion was £0.7 billion. So it would take a person on a...
Post a Comment
Read more