Nigel Fletcher, Chief Executive Officer
I have a visual impairment, so I rely heavily on my phone to give me information I can’t see on boards and platform screens.
But the platform had been changed and by the time I realised I was on the wrong train, we were already on the move. As I was trying to work out what to do, the ticket inspector arrived.
I explained the situation and showed my disabled person’s railcard, but he was convinced I was at fault and issued the fine.
He said if I didn’t pay it, British Transport Police would be waiting for me at the next stop. It was unnecessarily humiliating, on top of an already stressful situation.
This was just one journey for one disabled person on one day. There are 16 million disabled people across the UK, many of whom are navigating complex barriers to travel.
On the whole disabled people travel less than non-disabled people. But we all have to travel as part of day-to-day life to get to school or work, to get to health appointments, to see our friends and family.
Transport accessibility is an equity issue. Being unable to make the journeys we want and need to make risks holding disabled people back from living the lives we choose.
That's why we are launching our updated strategy, Building Transport Equity this week. This includes hosting an event for key people and organisations working in disability and transport, in London today.
The Motability Foundation has a proud history of improving access to transport through the Motability Scheme, which currently supports over 860,000 eligible disabled people. Our oversight of the Scheme and supporting people to access it will continue to be our biggest priority.
Disabled people also need better access to all forms of transport and make sure people have the right tools and support to make the journeys they choose.
In updating our strategy, we spoke to hundreds of disabled people, our staff, disabled people’s organisations, key players in the transport sector, government and others to understand the challenges we need to meet and how we can best address them.
We will work across key transport themes, from personal mobility to public transport, using insights, commercial activity, grant-making, innovation, research and policy to build transport equity. We will work not just to help disabled people get around today, but to drive the changes we need for a more inclusive transport system tomorrow.
We are launching this strategy at a time of economic, technological and political change affecting disabled people and the transport landscape. Our approach to financial planning allows us to respond to these external factors.
Overall, we aim to provide £650m delivering our charitable work over the next five years. This includes £50m in grants for other charities and organisations who support disabled people to travel in different ways.
There is a lot to do and we can’t do it alone. We want to work in partnership with organisations working with the public, private and charity sectors to build transport equity together.
Today's event shows the appetite for continued collaboration, to not only drive change today but to design transport for the future that works for everyone. Above all, the voices and experiences of disabled people will continue to drive everything we do.