Policymakers must begin to concentrate on social, economic and political mobility facilitated by accessible public transport, writes Sarah Olney, MP for Richmond Park.

Public transport is a gateway to the world around us. It is central to the task of tackling climate change by improving air quality and cutting congestion, and it can remediate spatial inequalities by unlocking access to employment opportunities.

You might think, therefore, that the provision of inclusive and high-quality public transport infrastructure would be a priority for this government. Yet our outdated transport networks – rail especially – continue to fall short of meeting passenger needs.

It would be tin eared to demand an overnight transformation of rail infrastructure given the drain of the coronavirus pandemic on this government’s time and resources. Inexcusable, however, is the government’s utter lack of aspiration to deliver accessible public transport. While “Access for All” has become a much-loved addition to the government’s arsenal of slogans, safe and reliable rail infrastructure remains an exception, rather than the rule.

Most rail passenger injuries come from accidents in stations as a result of slips, trips and falls, of which there were nearly 200 in Britain in 2019/20. Disparately sized gaps between the platform and train found across our rail networks are a key suspect here, with smaller dimensions causing tripping hazards and larger ones increasing the risk of passengers falling between the train and platform. Inconsistent step gaps across our rail stations, caused by historical variations in platforms and subsequent changes to track, platform and rolling stock design, only exacerbate the danger posed to passengers.

All passengers – not only those with physical impairments, children or luggage – suffer from such gaps as boarding and alighting must be approached slowly and incidents can lead to increased delay times.

Long-term funding is essential

Although the government has promoted the use of markings and signage as sticking plasters to mitigate the dangers inherent to step gap dimensions, long-term funding must be secured to remediate these dangerous barriers to travel once and for all. Although the rapid reduction in numbers travelling has indeed reduced crowding at stations, accidents are on the rise – perhaps due to the attempt of passengers to navigate step gaps without touching physical aids for fear of touching objects contaminated by Covid-19.

The absence of tactile paving constitutes a lesser known yet equally injurious barrier to effortless travel for passengers with visual impairments. Tactile paving is a system of textured ground surface found on rail station platforms, which conveys vital information to passengers with visual impairments about their proximity to the platform edge. Shockingly, a recent Liberal Democrat Freedom of Information request revealed that more than one in three rail stations in the UK have platforms with no tactile paving.

Despite the fatal accident at Eden Park station in February 2020 which saw a blind man fall over the edge of the station platform due to the absence of tactile paving, ministers exhibit little ambition to facilitate safe travel for all, toeing the line that stations are only expected to meet current “accessibility requirements” when they install, renew or replace station infrastructure.

Perhaps more disconcerting than the government’s reluctance to install basic safety features across rail stations, is the stringent commitment to “accessibility requirements”. In response to my recent oral question in the House, the Minister for Transport acknowledged that travellers will need extra encouragement to get out of their cars and back on public transport once Coronavirus restrictions are lifted. A comprehensive plan for safe and accessible public transport, however, remains to be seen.

“Access for All”

If “Access for All” is to materialise, a step-change in how the government thinks about access is necessary. Access in its most basic form denotes mobility. Rather than simply focusing on physical mobility, policymakers must begin to concentrate on social, economic and political mobility facilitated by accessible public transport. In this sense, transport is constitutive of how individuals define and recognise themselves and others.

Obstacles to access such as the absence of tactile paving and large gaps between platforms and trains can cause all passengers to act and feel different, restrict independence and negate any sense of equal opportunity. Such barriers impinge on the dignity of individuals and diminish their right to develop talents to the full.

Marginalising needs

Inaccessible public transport, then, does not only limit the movement of a passenger from A to B, but marginalises their needs and the importance of their contribution to society. If the Government intends to facilitate the social, economic and political flourishment of individuals and communities and drive so-called “levelling up”, the concept of access must shed its status as an afterthought and move to centre stage in all policy and planning decisions.

Sarah Olney is the Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park.

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