Sustrans has launched a project with Transport for All called Transforming Mobility to understand how to better include disabled people in transport planning.
Through research and engagement in the UK and Belgium, it explores how cities can improve accessibility by involving disabled people in decision-making.
The research project, funded by the Motability Foundation, has revealed disabled people are being left out.
Over half of disabled people said the government is not doing enough to help them be active or access nature, almost half have said transport is not affordable, and half feel that both local and national governments are not prioritising accessibility.
The report highlights five big ideas already gaining momentum in the UK, with the potential to shape transport over the next five to 10 years.
Throughout the project, disabled people have shared clear, practical recommendations to make sure these ideas truly represent their needs and lead to better, fairer outcomes.
The five big ideas include rebalancing street space; creating mobility hubs linking walking, wheeling, cycling, and public transport; the rollout of side road zebra crossings across the UK; cutting car parking to clear pavements; and paying disabled people to become members of access panels and advise on local transport decisions.
Disabled people were central to the research, from shaping the project to sharing their experiences.
The work was led by disabled team members at Sustrans and Transport for All and involved over 40 disabled people in workshops, bringing in a wide mix of backgrounds, conditions, and locations.
Sustrans also worked with non-profit organisation More in Common, which focuses on understanding and bridging divides within societies, to run a nationally representative survey, completed by 1,107 disabled adults across the UK.
Respondents were screened to reflect a range of impairments, and the data was carefully weighted to match the wider disabled population.
Sustrans says balancing street space is important because streets are mostly designed around cars. It adds that councils should plan street space in a way that supports walking, wheeling, cycling, and public transport through Street Allocation Frameworks and Traffic Circulation Plans, for instance.
This means taking space from cars on some streets and giving it to other ways of getting around, while still keeping access for people who need to drive. Most disabled people support this approach.
Making it easier to walk, wheel or cycle to the bus, train, or tram by changing between different types of transport should be simple, says Sustrans. Mobility hubs bring things together in one place, like a bus stop next to a train station, with bike parking and accessible walking routes.
The hubs also work better when they include public toilets, seating, and shelter. Disabled people want these hubs to be easy to get to and use.
Prioritising people crossing side roads is included within the five big ideas, as Sustrans states that, since 2022, the Highway Code says drivers should give way to people waiting to cross side roads, which it says is not happening.
Side road zebra crossings are a cheap and simple way to fix this, says Sustrans. They are already used across Europe. When tested in UK cities, more drivers stopped and disabled people felt safer. Councils should be allowed to install them more widely.
Sustrans says reducing parking to free up public space can make room for benches, trees, bike parking, and wider pavements. It can also help remove clutter from footways.
Any changes must protect access for disabled people who need to park. Nearly half of disabled people support removing some visitor parking to improve public space.
Forming access panels to inform local transport policy is included within the five big ideas as Sustrans says disabled people should be paid to help shape local transport decisions.
A national network could support these panels with training and resources, adds Sustrans. A version of this already exists in Scotland.
The National Travel Survey shows disabled people take 25 percent fewer trips than non-disabled people in England.
Disabled people often experience greater barriers to mobility and find existing transport much more challenging than non-disabled people in the UK, according to Sustrans.
For example, 41 percent of disabled people often experience problems reaching their destination during typical walking or wheeling journeys due to accessibility. Sustrans says this can limit transport choice, reduce access and increase social isolation.
Sustrans states that when disabled people are actively engaged within the development of transport policy and practice their needs are likely to be part of these plans as opposed to being ignored or over-looked.
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