Accessibility advisors at Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and Brighton & Hove Buses have worked together with adults with a learning disability to support them in making an integrated journey by both bus and train.
This is thought to be the first time that a bus operator and a rail operator have come together to offer a combined in experience such as this, in partnership with an organisation like Grace Eyre.
Grace Eyre is a Brighton & Hove-based charity, whose Travel Training programme transforms the lives of people with learning disabilities and autism by increasing their confidence to travel independently.
Brighton & Hove Buses and GTR, which runs Southern, Gatwick Express, Great Northern and Thameslink trains are independent companies owned by Go-Ahead, one of the UK’s leading public transport companies.
Accessibility managers Victoria Garcia (Brighton & Hove Buses) and Carl Martin (GTR) joined eight of the people supported by Grace Eyre on a Number 7 bus to Brighton Railway Station.
Along the way they acted out everyday scenarios such as how to deal with a missing bus pass and journey planning, to give their guests the knowledge and confidence to travel independently.
At the station, Carl showed the eight, who are all local residents, how to check train times, buy a ticket and ask for assistance. They then boarded a train to Haywards Heath before returning by a specially laid-on ‘rail replacement bus’, to show the alternative transport used if rail services are disrupted.
Both GTR and Brighton & Hove Buses have their own well-established programmes to give people who may need assistance or who feel anxious about using public transport the confidence to travel independently, with Grace Eyre providing unique travel training via their Travel Buddy project. This latest initiative is thought to be the first time two companies have worked together to demonstrate how accessible, with the right support, it can be to make a single trip by both bus and train.
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.”
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.”
Image credit: GTR
