Access Denied: MPs call for overhaul of transport for disabled people
March 27, 2025
For many disabled people in Britain, the simple act of getting from A to B is a daily battle against an inaccessible, unreliable, and often indifferent transport system. A new Transport Committee report lays bare the shocking reality: People left stranded at airports for hours, taxi drivers refusing to take passengers with assistance dogs, and a fragmented complaints system that leads nowhere.
Far from making progress, access to transport for disabled people has in some cases deteriorated since the Covid-19 pandemic, the cross-party committee found. While ministers talk about closing the gap between disabled and non-disabled travellers, the evidence suggests a growing divide.
The committee surveyed 825 people with access needs, revealing that 67% encounter problems using transport either 'always' or 'most of the time.' Just 1.7% said they never experience issues. Worse still, more than half reported they avoid making journeys at least once a month because of the barriers they expect to face.
For those with disabilities - whether visible or not - public transport should be a gateway to work, leisure, and social connections. Instead, it is often a source of stress, frustration, and exclusion. The report highlights that the failings of transport providers are not just inconveniences, but direct violations of people’s rights.
Committee chair Ruth Cadbury MP did not mince her words: “It should be a source of national embarrassment that our transport services treat disabled people as second-class citizens, denying them access to jobs, leisure, support networks, and essential services.”
And even when transport fails disabled passengers, the system to complain and seek redress is another minefield. “Those let down face a spaghetti junction of complaints processes that fob them off or lead them on a road to nowhere,” Cadbury said. “Even when complaints are resolved, lessons aren’t learnt, changes aren’t made, and it’s tempting to think that occasional penalties are seen by providers as just another cost of doing business.”
The committee’s key message is that accessibility must be recognised as a fundamental right, not a 'nice to have.'
The report calls for a fundamental shift in attitudes across transport services, regulators, and policymakers. Accessibility failures must go from being an everyday occurrence to being vanishingly rare. That will require not only new policies and funding but also a change in culture - one where transport providers understand that accessibility is not an optional extra but a legal and moral obligation.
The committee has issued its recommendations. Now, it’s up to the government to act - or continue to let disabled people be shut out of public life by a transport system that too often leaves them stranded.
Adapted cycles
People with disabilities increasingly turn to e-bikes and electric trikes as essential mobility aids, countering the fallacy that cycling is only for the fit and able.
With an e-bike or trike, a person who struggles with their mobility or balance can cover distances that would otherwise be punishing or impossible, reducing reliance on public transport and expensive taxis.
Research by Wheels for Wellbeing revealed that 75 per cent of disabled cyclists find riding easier than walking with the same proportion using their cycle as a mobility aid, just like a wheelchair or mobility scooter.
Cycling is a great form of active travel for those with special needs; with the thumbs up from a medical professional, it can reduce strain on joints, aid balance and help alleviate breathing difficulties.
Unfortunately, policymakers hampered by car-centric logic too often ignore this practical, personal, and sustainable mobility solution. In the worst cases, they build cycle lanes too narrow for trikes or install bollards that block adapted cycles entirely.
Cycle insurance for trikes
Cycle insurance from the ETA is well suited to adapted cycles, e-bikes and electric trikes. Every policy includes a long list of benefits as standard including theft, accidental damage, vandalism, third party claims, and even 24/7 breakdown cover for you and your bike or trike.
Please note: We can't guarantee our Cycle Rescue drivers will be able to help you from your cycle to the recovery vehicle if your mobility is severely restricted. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
The ethical choice
The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Over 30 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance , breakdown cover and mobility scooter insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.
The Good Shopping Guide judges us to be the UK’s most ethical provider.
Information correct at time of publication.
Leave us a comment
