Source: TRL Limited

UK transportation committee TRL Limited (TRL) and the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RiDC) have produced a report on the topic of automated transport’s impact on disabled people, with funding from the Motability Foundation.

It has been reported that in the context of automated transport, accessibility is often less prioritised with new technology and services, due to the need for rapid deployment and return of investment. This report has been produced to help prevent accessibility slipping down the radar with the objective to “support the development of inclusive automated transport technologies and services by understanding the needs, perceptions and challenges faced by disabled people.

Research questions

The following were explored with stakeholder engagement, disability organisations, automated technology developers and transport operators, focus groups and a survey with disabled people and usability trials of two existing automated services:

• Identify the benefits of automated transport for disabled people.
• Identify and prioritise the challenges faced by disabled people with automated transport.
• Identify the extent to which accessibility is currently being considered in the design and development of automated transport technologies and services, including any good practice examples.
• Identify design principles and recommended solutions to support the design, development and implementation of inclusive automated transport.

Challenges for disabled people

Disabled participants noted many positives of automated transport but their answers also raised many challenges that they face. It is believed that the barriers that exist for them with non-automated transport will continue to exist for automated transport, e.g. buying tickets. The results imply that it is not just the vehicle itself that needs to improved for accessibility, but also surrounding infrastructure including digital systems and interfaces, information provision, transfers to other transportation and the built environment. Findings also implicate that there’s a diverse range of barriers for different people which needs to be accommodated for, and that the licensing needs to be more clear about eligibility.

Stakeholder feedback

A representative of 28 stakeholders from industry and disability organisations were interviewed. Themes that were identified included:

• Support was expressed towards designing automated vehicles for the differing needs of disabled people, however a one-size fit all approach isn’t commercially viable for disabled people with differing needs and barriers.
• There is not enough guidance on making automated transport more accessible, which risks accessibility being inconsistent across different services.
• There needs to be more inclusiveness for different customer groups however there was an inconsistency in results reporting.
• Some operators and technology services have already launched features to enhance non-automated transport services, which can also be used for automated services.

Recommendations

The study recommends that a clear and comprehensive framework of regulation and policy is needed to deliver market direction, guidance and incentives for providing accessible automation. It has also advised specific objectives to help tackle challenges that have been identified in the results.