Great for accessible breaks

READING has just missed out from the top spot in a survey of accessible “city break” destinations.

New research for Passenger Assistance, which provides assistances for travel plans tailored around physical needs, has shown that Reading was second only to York.

Data from the app was combined with rankings from disability and accessibility organisations to determine the most accessible destination for city breaks.

Reading beat Birmingham, in third place, Leicester, Newcastle, and Bath Spa, for combining accessibility and shopping, leisure, and events.

Great Western Railway was also named as the best train operator for requested assistance for passengers.

One in five people in the UK have a disability or specific physical requirements, including around

1.2 million wheelchair users, and more than 7,000 people who use assistance dogs.

Passenger Assistance is a freeto-use app, created by Transreport, and was nominated in the Scope Disability Equality Awards last year.

Transreport’s CEO and founder, Jay Shen, said: “Everyone deserves a stress-free break all year round, but particularly around celebrations such as Valentine’s Day when there is even greater emphasis on spending time with those special to you.

“Passenger Assistance is designed to make it simpler for disabled and older people to arrange assistance for the journeys they make on public transport.

“Last year, there were 746,724 requests for assistance from disabled, neurodivergent and older passengers made from our app.

He continued: “It’s incredible to see so many users able to enjoy greater freedom.”