Mary regularly commutes to work using her local tram service. The trams are accessible and have a designated seating area for disabled passengers. However, Mary often finds that this seating area is used by non-disabled passengers, even outside of rush hours.
When Mary politely asks other passengers for a seat she is often ignored. Standing on the tram causes Mary discomfort and stress, and she is afraid of falling over. On a busy day, Mary says she is unable to commute to work as she needs the guarantee of a seat to avoid these problems.
The tram operator believes they can do no more, and already has adjustments in place under the DDA.
Outcome: Full and Final Settlement
During mediation the tram operator agreed to review current information (on the website and in tram stop shelters) with a view to updating information about company practice to assist disabled people. The company confirmed that agreed wording would be placed on tram stop passenger information displays emphasising to all passengers that assistance is available.
The representative for the tram operator confirmed the company was currently in the process of reviewing disability awareness training for all staff who deal with passengers. They said, “Within this calendar year we will commence a programme of refresher training for current staff on Disability Awareness and how we may be able to make journeys easier. Any newly recruited staff will be trained using the same materials.” They also confirmed that as part of the training and refresher training programmes, staff will be given advice on how to respond to a request for assistance. Where assistance in finding a seat is requested, tram staff will endeavour to satisfy the request.
Mary had suggested the introduction of a ‘Disabled Passengers’ group to identify reasonable adjustments to increase usability, and the tram operator agreed to engage with local disability groups to identify issues which would inform the proposed disability awareness training.
An apology was offered by the tram operator which Mary was happy to accept.