Accessibility advisors from Brighton & Hove Buses and Govia Thameslink Railway have joined forces to work with charity Grace Eyre in a groundbreaking accessibility project. The project has worked with adults with learning difficulties in a bid to support them in making integrated travel using both buses and trains.

Grace Eyre is based in Brighton & Hove and their travel training programme aims to support people with learning difficulties and autism by giving them a positive experience and building confidence to travel independently.

Brighton & Hove Buses and Govia Thameslink Railway who operate Southern, Gatwick Express, Great Northern and Thameslink are independent companies but are all owned by Go-Ahead which is one the country’s most prominent transport companies.

A group of eight people who are supported by Grace Eyre were joined by accessibility managers Victoria Garcia from Brighton & Hove Buses and Carl Martin from Govia Thameslink Railway on a number 7 bus in order to make their way to Brighton Railway Station. The trip saw the acting out of everyday scenarios from what to do if you have lost your bus pass to planning a journey in a bid to increase awareness and build confidence in travelling independently.

On arriving at Brighton Railway Station, Carl showed the eight locals how to check out train times, purchase a ticket and how to ask for help. The group got onboard a train to Haywards Heath and returned using a specially organised ‘rail replacement bus’ to demonstrate how to use alternative transport modes should rail services be disrupted.

Govia Thameslink Railway and Brighton & Hove Buses already have ongoing programmes which support anybody who may require assistance or who feel anxious about using public transport in a bid to build confidence in independent travel.

Charity Grace Eyre also provides special travel training using its Travel Buddy project, however, this recent collaboration is thought to be the very first time that two transport operating companies have worked together in order to show how easily accessible public transport can be with the right support in place.

Carl Martin, Accessibility Lead at GTR, said: “At Govia Thameslink Railway, we’re on a journey of improvement to give everyone the confidence to travel with us. This ground-breaking collaboration between bus and train has the potential to transform lives for some of the people in our community by giving them the self-assurance to travel independently. We were delighted to be able to join forces with two organisations who share our commitment and values.”

Victoria Garcia, Accessibility Communities Manager at Brighton & Hove Buses, said: “Transport links are vital in providing everyone access to work, education, healthcare and social inclusion. Working with Grace Eyre in recent years, in support of their Travel Training programmes, has been hugely successful in increasing passenger confidence and independent living.

“This year, for the time ever, we have been able to consider the full end-to-end journey, by partnering with the team at GTR who share in our commitment to building confidence, improving public transport and changing lives in the community. Every passenger journey is different, and we are extremely proud that we can now address this as a result of this great partnership.”

Claire Hudson, Travel Buddy Manager for Grace Eyre said: “Grace Eyre’s Travel Buddy team is thrilled to be working with both GTR and Brighton & Hove Buses to help people with learning disabilities experience the freedom that independent travel can bring. Like GTR and Brighton & Hove Buses, we want more people to feel confident in using public transport so that they can be a part of and contribute to their communities and it’s brilliant to be working together to achieve this.”