Together, the Motability Foundation and RNIB are leading a bold new partnership to make journeys more accessible for people with sight loss.
This unique partnership brings together the shared expertise of both organisations to better understand how we can break down the barriers to transport that many people with sight loss still face today.
We know disabled people make 25 per cent fewer trips than non-disabled people, and one in three people with sight loss never or rarely use public transport. We want to change that.
As part of the partnership, we’ve launched three projects to tackle these challenges over a three-year period, from 2024 to 2027:
- Future Journeys
- Travel Well with Tech
- Joint Innovation Working
The lived experience of people with sight loss and other disabilities will be key to this partnership, with individuals actively collaborating to identify barriers and co-design solutions.
Future Journeys
Future Journeys is a creative project that aims to reimagine what our transport systems could look like if they were designed with accessibility in mind.
To achieve this, we’re running a series of immersive workshops that map the current challenges and opportunities of accessible transport. We’re bringing together a diverse range of people to inform these workshops and share expertise, including transport providers, policymakers, technologists, designers and people with lived experience.
This project is not just looking at small fixes. This is about surfacing the real challenges people with sight loss face today and imagining bold, alternative futures for inclusive transport.
To showcase our findings in imaginative ways, we’ve commissioned Bowman & Poole, a company that specialises in storytelling and film. They’ll be transforming the insights from our workshops into a final film, ready for Spring 2026.
Through this immersive form of storytelling, we hope to demonstrate to the transport sector what truly inclusive travel could look like and inspire decision makers to take action.
- Find out more on the Future Journeys website.
- Read our news story about the first workshop.
Travel Well with Tech
Travel Well with Tech is a technology-focused project that explores the biggest travel barriers for people with sight loss.
For many, using a smartphone, app or GPS to move freely and travel confidently is second nature. But, for people with sight loss, the reality is very different.
Our goal is to identify a range of accessible, digitally driven solutions that could empower more people with sight loss to plan, make and enjoy more journeys.
The first phase of this project aimed to understand what challenges exist, why they occur and how we might address them. Through national surveys, in-depth workshops and real-world journey observations, we explored the emotional and physical barriers to technology and travel across a broad spectrum of people with sight loss.
Based on these findings, our second phase focuses on designing training materials to support people with sight loss to make more journeys and increase autonomy.
Discover key insights: Travel Well with Tech and the Phase One report.
