« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
Transport information service for disabled people: Transport Matters, Bedfordshire
A4.47 Transport Matters is a project within the Disability Resource Centre, Dunstable, which provides a "One Stop Shop" of information for disabled people on travel, transport and accessibility in all its forms, and on other mobility issues in Bedfordshire and Luton, in the South Midlands of England.
Description of the scheme
A4.48 The Project provides information across as broad a spectrum of transport and travel as possible, and to as broad a section of the community as possible. It takes a holistic approach to the issue of accessible transport, since it functions not only at the operational level, in the provision of information, but also at the strategic level, in promoting, influencing and lobbying for the availability and provision of accessible transport services across Bedfordshire. The Project's approach is one of Information, Consultation and Representation, and addresses the issue of accessible transport from the viewpoint of user need, not at the organisational level.
A4.49 Three levels of information service are provided. These are,
- Signposting : providing contact details of service providers and service information, as an individual "brokerage" service connecting services and service providers with users.
- Caseworking : this follows a more complex enquiry, where detailed research and planning are required, to produce a "travel plan" for the user.
- Advocacy : where users are either denied services they require or receive inadequate services. In such cases the project takes up the issue on behalf of the user with the relevant service providers or bodies and provides either a solution or puts pressure on the relevant organisations to resolve the issue.
A4.50 The project recognises that it has to be proactive in providing these services, and therefore an Outreach Programme is an important aspect. This programme involves both attendance at events and venues that provide direct access to the Community, in addition to contact with, and presentations to, local organisations, groups and forums which can act as conduits through to the target client base.
A4.51 The project attends meetings of local government and local interest groups, and is a member of a number of related interest and lobbying groups and forums. The project works closely with the other projects and services within the Disability Resource Centre, for example the Outreach Service, Information Service and Direct Payments project. These projects also have strategic focus on client groups such as children and young people, and people from ethnic and religious minority groups.
A4.52 The aims of the project, from the user perspective, are to increase independence and therefore to improve quality of life for the client population through the provision of relevant, accurate and up to date information. This is supported by the active role taken in promoting and providing improved and extended accessible transport services.
Area and population
A4.53 The service is available for residents of Bedfordshire and Luton. The county had a population of 381,572 in 2001 (which is roughly equivalent to that of Fife (349,429) and North Lanarkshire). Luton (which is a Unitary Authority) had a population of 185,543 in 2001, which is very similar to that of Aberdeen (184,788). Bedfordshire includes other medium-sized towns, such as Bedford (population of 82,488 in 2001), Dunstable (50,775) and Biggleswade (15,383), but a substantial proportion of the county is rural.
Number and type of trips facilitated
A4.54 It is estimated that around 2,000 individual enquiries were handled during 2004-5, and that the Outreach Programme contacted in excess of 500 people directly, and many more indirectly as a result. In the period June to November 2004, there were a total of around 770 enquiries of various types to the Transport Matters project. These included direct telephone enquiries, website enquiries, outreach event enquiries, open day and theme day enquires, etc.
A4.55 The main subject areas for enquiries are:
- Community Transport (for local transport needs)
- Patient Transport (for trips to hospitals and clinics)
- Adapted Vehicles and Equipment
- Travel Planning (for specific trips by various modes)
- Advocacy.
with Community Transport, Adapted Vehicles and Travel Planning being the top three topics.
A4.56 Figures for those enquiries which necessitated a written response are :
- Travel plans - 38
- Adapted vehicles - 32
- Advocacy - 7
A4.57 The project's own statistics show that 92% of callers described themselves as being "White British", whilst 69% were women.
Trips facilitated (that were not otherwise possible)
A4.58 Particular areas of unmet transport need identified by recent research by the Transport Matters project include the needs of disabled children, disabled people from ethnic minority communities, and disabled people in rural areas.
Sustainability, and parties involved in the planning, funding and operation of the scheme.
A4.59 The project has two years' full funding from the National Lottery, for the financial years 2005-6 and 2006-7; there is 60% National Lottery funding for 2004-5, with the remaining 40% of funding being provided by a local charity. The project is run by one full-time member of staff, whose salary is directly derived from the project's funding, and whose responsibility it is to seek and secure future funding. The project is overseen by a board of trustees.
User feedback
A4.60 The Transport Matters project undertook its own research exercise to gauge the success of the project in terms of client satisfaction. A total of 179 questionnaires were sent out, to cover written responses to enquiries between June and December of 2004, and 59 were returned, which is a return rate of 33%.
A4.61 In terms of whether the information provided by Transport Matters had improved any aspect of respondents' life, almost 80% of respondents who completed the questionnaire felt the information improved one or more aspects of their life, and a further 7% thought that it had improved their quality of life overall. Only 14% felt that it made no difference at all, although the reasons for this were not made clear. A more detailed assessment showed a particular appreciation for the importance of travel planning information, with 80% of respondents believing that this information had improved various aspects of their life.
A4.62 Clients of the service were also questioned about how the information provided by the project enabled them to fulfil certain trips, or to achieve general independence or reduced discrimination. They were asked to assess the improvement benefit gained for each trip purpose by giving a score on a scale from 1 to 6 (where 6 represented the highest level of impact). (See Figure A4.3). Shopping, holidays and "general independence" were seen as being of the most importance. Benefits related to work or education were scored low, indicating that a very large proportion of clients are older or simply not in employment.
Figure A4. 3: Transport Matters Client Satisfaction Survey: Impact by Trip Purpose.
« Previous | Contents | Next »