Accessible Travel Challenges Revealed

Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) has launched the results of its nationwide ‘Travel With Confidence’ campaign.

Funded by the Motability Foundation, the campaign has documented the real-world challenges faced by wheelchair users and people with limited mobility every day.

With just 48 hours' notice, six people with spinal cord injuries from across the UK were challenged to plan and complete a journey to Central London using two forms of public transport, capturing and rating their experience through video diaries.

Despite careful planning, only one participant completed the challenge using two forms of public transport, yet he still faced critical barriers including taxi rejection. Five others failed to complete their journeys as intended, with one unable to even leave his property.

The campaign exposes what SIA describes as an 'accessibility lottery', where disabled passengers face dramatically different experiences depending on where they live and travel.

Even participants who scored journeys at 7–8/10 still encountered single barriers severe enough to derail their plans.

Critical findings:

1. Time Penalties & Infrastructure Failures. 80% of participants experienced delays of 35-65 minutes beyond journey planner estimates—not due to traffic, but inaccessible Tubes, broken lifts, taxi refusals, and waiting for assistance that didn't arrive. Colin experienced +35 minutes each way (8 hours total vs 6h 50m predicted), while Chris faced +45 minutes each way.

2. Rural Exclusion: Couldn't Even Start the Journey. Stephen from rural Mid Wales couldn't attempt the challenge due to inaccessible pavements preventing him from reaching the bus stop, a local station with no toilet facilities, and a requirement to give 2 hours' advance notice just to board a train with assistance. He has only been on a train once in his life (at age 16).

3. The High Score Paradox: "Success" Masked Critical Failures. Three participants scored 7-8/10 overall yet faced barriers that made journeys "unacceptable." Two participants scored toilets 0/10—complete barriers, not inconveniences. Even participants with 10/10 staff assistance scores experienced extreme stress (10/10) and infrastructure failures.

4. Safety Concerns & Wrong Information. Danny from Matlock in Derbyshire faced boarding ramps so steep his wife had to physically assist to prevent him falling out of his wheelchair—something she described as "could have been a disaster" if she weren't there. Meanwhile, Harriet was told signs indicated "wheelchair access" only to discover it didn't exist, Colin found all three Tube entrances blocked with NO signage for alternatives, and Sarah-Jane received conflicting information from multiple staff about lift availability.

5. Unexpected Costs & Regional Variations Harriet was forced into a £52 taxi when the Tube had no lift at Charing Cross—a 185% increase over her planned train fare. Rural areas face complete exclusion from public transport, with those furthest from London having the fewest alternatives when accessibility infrastructure fails.

To find out more visit https://www.spinal.co.uk/travel-hub/