Disabled passengers benefit from improved standards and assistance
New delay compensation standards and improvements for disabled passengers are two major wins for the rail industry, says the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR) annual rail consumer report.
The report shows that train and station operators have made improvements to their services for disabled passengers, as set out in the ORR’s Accessible Travel Policy.
All train operators can now take bookings for assisted travel at two hours’ notice, a requirement introduced by ORR to progressively reduce the notice period from 24 hours over the last two years.
The rail regulator conducted research into disabled passengers’ experiences with booked assistance. Of the 5,200 passengers who took part, overall satisfaction with the Passenger Assist service increased to 87%.
ORR says it will “engage with train and station operators on areas of concern to secure improvements and help improve confidence for passengers using the service”.
The research identified areas for improvement, including reducing the number of passengers who did not receive all the assistance they booked, those not being met by staff at the station, and the time it takes to book via telephone.
A review into website accessibility highlighted improvement and innovation, but found that more still needs to be done, particularly on the quality of station accessibility information, and for customers who use assistive technology.
In the past year, all train operators have also agreed to new delay compensation standards, making the process for submitting a claim clearer and simpler.
A new licence condition requires train operators to provide passengers with clear information before and during their journey about their entitlements to compensation when there are delays, improve how they process claims for compensation, and publish data on how well they are meeting these obligations.
Stephanie Tobyn, Interim Director of Strategy, Policy and Reform at ORR, said: “We have held train and station operators to account for fair and transparent interactions with passengers, including on the quality of their passenger information, the services they provide for disabled passengers and how they manage delay compensation claims.
“In the year ahead, we will work with Government to support the establishment of GBR, and will bring the Rail Ombudsman under ORR sponsorship.”