ORR’s five key focus areas to improve passenger assistance

Train operators are being advised on how to better serve disabled passengers.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has identified several key areas of focus for the industry following audits commissioned by the regulator into how five operators were meeting regulatory requirements related to the delivery of assistance.

The operators – East Midlands Railway, Govia Thameslink Railway, Greater Anglia, London North Eastern Railway and Northern – were chosen as a representative sample of the whole industry, with a range of service characteristics, including both stronger and poorer track records of performance in the delivery of assistance.

Research by ORR suggests that satisfaction levels with booked assistance are high, with more than 90% satisfaction with the end-to-end assistance process.

However, it adds, when assistance fails it can significantly impact on the well-being of passengers and their overall travel experience. 

Stephanie Tobyn, ORR’s director of strategy, and reform, said: “When assistance fails it can significantly impact the well-being of passengers and their overall travel experience.

“We recognise that unforeseen circumstances can arise, but it is essential that the industry is focused on consistently upholding its commitment to providing support for passengers with disabilities. Addressing and focusing effort on the fundamental issues set out here will contribute to creating a more inclusive and accessible travel environment for all passengers.

“We will work closely with train operating companies on this going forward and will continue to act to ensure regulatory requirements on accessibility are being met.” 

The regulator is now highlighting that train operating companies:

• Should more widely adopt the Passenger Assist staff app, which was found to improve the reliability of assistance on the day, as well as driving continuous improvement over time
• Must ensure that clear communication takes place between departure and destination stations when delivering assistance by complying with the ‘handover protocol’, including at peak times
• Should ensure that when onboard staff are required to deliver assistance, as opposed to station staff, effective procedures are in place to allow them to do this 
• Need to intensify their work through the Rail Delivery Group to ensure industry systems designed to support accessibility requirements are robust, work for passengers and that the information held in those systems is kept up to date

The ORR has identified specific actions in its report that take forward these cross-industry findings.

Read the report here