A new advertising campaign by the Department for Transport to help make train travel easier for people with disabilities is being supported by Greater Anglia.

The campaign, titled ‘It’s everyone’s journey’, seeks to show everyone can play a part to make public transport inclusive. Too many disabled people say that they don’t feel confident using public transport, whilst a quarter of them say that they are prevented from travelling by negative attitudes from other passengers.

By showing the impact that unconscious behaviour by other passengers can have on disabled passengers, the campaign aims to encourage them to make small changes to their habits when travelling, such as:

• Be prepared to give up a priority seat;
• Be prepared to help each other
• Be patient with each other;
• Don’t charge through busy platforms;
• Respect all accessible toilet users.

For its part, Greater Anglia is taking steps to make its trains and stations more accessible. Its fleet of new trains is designed to be more accessible, with every train having level boarding, large wheelchair spaces, and accessible toilets. Virtual online station tours have been introduced to help with journey planning and confidence, whilst its staff have undergone Accessibility & Inclusion training and access at stations and car parks across the network have been improved.

More information about the ‘It’s everyone’s journey’ campaign can be found at gov.uk/everyonesjourney #ItsEveryonesJourney

Rebecca Richardson, Greater Anglia’s Accessibilty Manager, said, “Public transport is at the heart of how we all live our lives, helping us get to work, school or college, healthcare appointments and social events.

“At Greater Anglia we want public transport to be truly inclusive and disabled people to be able to travel as confidently as other passengers.

“We’re working hard to ensure that everyone can have an enjoyable journey with us.
“This campaign also reminds us all of the need to be compassionate and courteous and we are very happy to support it.”