North East Talking Travel Network

Minutes of meeting 5th June 2017

Tees Valley
Present:
Ian Harrison, Hartlepool Licencing Department
Charlie French, Transpennine
David Armstrong, Grand Central Railway
Donna Brown, Stockton Helps All
Michelle Topliffe, Stockton Helps All
Louise Lamont, Stockton CAB & Stockton Helps All
Lee Spence, Virgin Trains
Janette Heseltine, RCBC Independent Travel Needs Assessor
Jayne Brown, Passenger Transport Hartlepool
Karin Slade, Larchfield Middlesbrough
Stephen McGechan, Larchfield Middlesbrough
Debbie Hewitt, Larchfield Middlesbrough
Neil Harrison, Hartlepool
Tony Davison, Hartlepool Sustainable travel Officer
Mark Ellis, Go North East
Kevin Poskett, Arriva NE
Jim Boaden, Darlington Association on Disability
Gemma Taura Jones, Darlington Peoples Parliament
Aaron Randall, Darlington Peoples Parliament
Jason Wood-Ives, Darlington Association on Disability
Linda Dickinson, Parent Carer Inclusion North
Kirsty Morgan, Inclusion North
Welcome and introductions
The group introduced who they were and
where they were from.

The focus of the meeting today was on

transport and travel in Darlington, Stockton,
Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, and Redcar and
Cleveland.

What is the Talking Travel Network?

Kirsty explained the aims of the Talking Travel
Network and what they planned to focus on this
year. To see the presentation go to:
http://bit.ly/2rRlNMd

The Talking Travel Network can support the

transport and travel work of self advocacy
groups in local areas and the transport
companies. Get in touch if you think we can
help.

Travel and Transport where you are

regional round up

Darlington: Positive experience shared of

someone, who uses a wheelchair, travelling on
a Virgin Train. This has been good even when
assistance has not been booked in advance.

Bus services were criticised for:

not giving people enough time to sit down
children swearing on the buses making
people feel uncomfortable
the way drivers spoke or questioned
people
Representatives from the bus companies
advised people to use the complaints process
to make the bus companies aware of what is
going on. Hold onto tickets as this will have
information that is helpful in identifying drivers
and services. Drivers all do disability
awareness training and this should be reflected
in the service they offer customers.

Stockton: Shared information about the free

white bus service for people with disabilities.
This is to cover routes other bus companies do
not do. People wanting to use this service have
to apply to the Council. Would it be possible to
set up something similar in other areas?
Feedback from the group was that this has
been done elsewhere but that people have had
to pay for the service.

People are having difficulty getting their bus

passes renewed. In some cases this has been
due to difficulties with PIP assessments. The
concessionary travel pass scheme is national
but local areas can assess eligibility in different
ways. Get in touch with your Local Authority to
find out how they are assessing bus pass
applications. The Eligibility Guidance is
available here:
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa
ds/attachment_data/file/181507/eligibility-
review.pdf

People in Stockton are willing to volunteer on

the buses, offering support to others. Go North
East are interested in this and work outside of
the meeting will be done to see if a pilot
scheme can be arranged. We heard of other
ways volunteers are involved in supporting
people to travel. In Redcar & Cleveland people
become bus buddies for others following their
independent travel training. Grand Central also
have volunteers at stations which are not
staffed on a weekend.
Middlesbrough: Raised a question about
seatbelts on buses making people feel safer?
Bus company representatives feedback there
is no legal requirement to have these, coaches
do as they tend to travel at faster speeds.

Family tickets are available on Go North East

and Arriva services, but do not seem to be
available through Stagecoach. The Talking
Travel network will follow up on this with
Stagecoach.

Having bus timetables available on the buses is

good as not everyone can get to bus stations or
customer service centres for these. Bus
company representatives reminded everyone
that their customer service departments can be
contacted for timetables and that they are
available in different formats.

It was suggested that having a chance to look

round the bus stations would be helpful in order
to understand the information and facilities. Bus
company representatives said that this can be
arranged for groups and individuals by
contacting the bus stations.

Audio-Visual signs were identified as being

really important for people. It was noted the use
of these is increasing as services are
modernised.

The importance of the Changing Places facility

at Middlesbrough Bus station was highlighted.
This gave us an opportunity to raise awareness
of these essential facilities.

Buses running late was a problem for some.

People were advised if they have mobiles to
use the relevant bus service Apps in order to
track services and know what is happening.

It was suggested that having something on

buses which says abuse is not allowed would
be helpful. This could cover both the driver and
passengers experience. Bus company
Bus Services:

Priority use of wheelchair space: We

discussed the Supreme Court Ruling in
January on the priority use of wheelchair
spaces on buses. You can find more details
about the judgement here
http://bbc.in/2mPa7XS

If people do have problems accessing the

wheelchair space they should report this to the
bus company.

For information about what Go North East,

Arriva and Stagecoach have said about the
Court ruling please go to:
http://bit.ly/2mTM0Iu
http://bit.ly/2tJckb9

Arriva have also issued the following posters in

response to the ruling http://bit.ly/2mPpeQY

Go North East have a taxi guarantee scheme

which can be used if the wheelchair space is
unavailable and the bus service is infrequent.

Bus Services Act: This new legislation came

into effect in April 2017 and covers the running
of bus services. The main benefit would appear
to be the possibility of better partnership
working arrangements.

New developments: People were reminded

they can use contactless payment options on
some services. Also SmartZone tickets
available in Newcastle, Sunderland & North
Tyneside allow unlimited travel on all Arriva, Go
north East & Stagecoach services. For more
information go to:
www.arrivabus.co.uk/nesmartzone
Taxi Services:
Representatives from Hartlepool shared the
difficulties they are having with their taxi
service.

Local Authority Licencing is responsible for

issuing licences to drivers and ensuring their
vehicles are fit for purpose.

There is a Driving Miss Daisy service in Redcar

& Cleveland.

There is no taxi card scheme that people are

aware of. Some taxi companies offer vouchers
or other reductions.

Self advocates were encouraged to practice

with one another
what they need to say to book a taxi
what to say if it is late or the plans need
to change.

Some companies have an automated service

but most people prefer to speak to a person.

The issue of drivers charging disabled

passengers more for their journey came up.
This as well as refusing to pick up someone
who uses a wheelchair is illegal under the
Equality Act. Drivers who do this should be
reported to the Licencing Authority. They can
be fined up to 1000 or lose their licence.
People should note the taxi registration plate
and the licence number if possible to help
identify drivers.
Rail Services:
Virgin, Grand Central & Transpennine all
confirmed they provide disability awareness
training to their staff. This included the
Disability Discrimination Act, Equality Act and
reasonable adjustments. The intention is to
inform the attitudes and approach of staff.

Information about the assistance available and

their policies on accessibility for disabled
passengers is available at the following
websites:

www.grandcentralrail.com/customer-
service/travel-assistance

www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/rail-travel/your-
journey/assisted-travel

www.tpexpress.co.uk/contact-us/assistance

Transpennine is looking to reduce the time

needed to book assistance for disabled
passengers from 24hrs to 2hrs. They also
promote the use of Blue Assist cards to help
with communication. See the website above for
details.

People were reminded of the priority seating

found at the ends of each train carriage. The
train guard can support people to access these
when they are on the train, they dont have to
be booked.

All companies present confirmed there was no

plan to remove train guards from services.

At train stations there are usually customer

information points, audio, braille and visual
information to help people. Grand Central have
volunteers providing support to customers at
weekends where stations are not staffed.
Discounted rail cards are available for
individuals and their supporters to reduce the
cost of travelling. On some services support
staff are able to travel free whilst involved with
travel training activities.

The difficulties people can have when there are

cancellations or disruption to services was
highlighted. Customer service assistants are
responsible for helping in such situations and
there are usually help points on platforms.
Information is also put on Websites, Facebook
and Twitter.

The idea of having a tour of the stations

facilities, information etc. was put forward and
welcomed by the train companies. This can be
arranged locally for groups or individuals by
contacting stations.

The Talking Travel network has been asked to

get involved in some mystery shopping
activities for Grand Central. Work to progress
this opportunity will take place outside of the
meeting.
Safe Places:
Kirsty passed on information from Andrew
Culkin (Director of Safe Places Org CIC)
about the Special Educational Needs and
Disability (SEND) symbolised Safe Places
educational resource. These are free to use for
everyone within their member areas who are
looking to teach or help people keep safe while
out and about. For more information go to:
www.safeplaces.org.uk

You will also find here a film by Amazing

Things Happen explaining Autism. This has
been nominated for awards around the world.

Andrew has been working with HSBC in West

Yorkshire where all their branches are
registered as Safe Places. They are looking to
extend this across Yorkshire & Humber and
eventually the UK.

Kirsty passed on information from Martin Crow

(Project Officer, Teesside Safeguarding
Adults Board) about the Safe Places Scheme
in Teesside.

Formal terms of reference and guidance

documents are now in place, these say how the
scheme should be organised and run.

Local co-ordinators and the police have been

involved in checking current safe places and a
way for these to check themselves is due to
start this year.

There are 96 Safe Places listed with more to be

added over the next 6mths including
Middlesbrough Football Club.

For more information go to:

www.tsab.org.uk/find-support-in-your-area
Sustainable travel
This is about getting more people to walk,
cycle, use the bus and the train rather than
travel by car.

The Government recently launched its first

cycling and walking strategy. This says what
they want to do and how much money is
available for this. The main aims are:
To get more people cycling
To get more people walking
To make cycling safer
To increase the number of 5-10yr olds
who walk to school

Money has been made available and Councils

have to bid for this. A bid called Connect Tees
Valley by the Tees Valley Combined Authority
to the Access Fund was successful. It
includes;

Active Travel Hubs in each area that

develop and promote cycling and walking
Support for marketing and campaigns
that encourage people to travel by
walking, cycling, bus and train
Support for a team of specialised travel
advisors
Support for Independent Travel Training
projects
Support for a project that will provide
motorbike scooters for those who need
access for employment
Support for pedestrian training for young
school children
Work on all this started in April and will run until
March 2020.

The Government also want Councils to write

Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure
Plans. These plans are about the ideas they
have for improving cycling and walking. For
 example new cycling or walking paths. The
Tees Valley Combined Authority will be doing
one.

Next Meeting
The next meeting will take place on 4th
September in Newcastle.

The focus of this will be on transport and travel

in the North East Combined Authority which
covers Northumberland, Newcastle, North
Tyneside, Gateshead, South Tyneside, and
Sunderland.

For information about the Talking Travel

Network contact kirsty@inclusionnorth.org or
phone 07539063467

Action
Find out what support is available
in your area for people to develop
independence with travelling
Who/when
All local groups to send
information through to
kirsty@inclusionnorth.org before
the next meeting in Teesside on
4th December