Motability Foundation

🎉 We're delighted to have awarded the University of Southampton a Research Grant for two years totalling £197,194. Their project will research mobility as a service (MaaS) for disabled travellers - a service which combines different modes of transport into one integrated platform for ease of journey-planning and ticketing. The Transportation Research Group at the University of Southampton will work with Transport for All to: ✔️ Explore the barriers faced by disabled people in making journeys, ✔️ Research how a MaaS system can help and, ✔️ Make recommendations for how to best design MaaS apps moving forward. Read more on their project: https://bit.ly/4k7T6WR #Accessibility #AccessibleTransport #Disability #Grant #Research

🎉 We're delighted to have awarded RNIB and Community Rail Network grant-funding to explore the effectiveness of disability training received by rail staff across the UK, and develop innovative models of raising disability awareness. The two-year project, called ‘On track for inclusive train travel: a model for engaging disabled people with rail workforce culture change’ will focus on supporting rail staff to improve how they communicate with and assist disabled people, with the ultimate aim of making rail travel more accessible and inclusive for disabled travellers. Read more about their project here: https://bit.ly/4hQFT3b #Disability #Grant #DisabilityTraining #AccessibleTransport

We estimate that there will be 2.7 million disabled drivers in 2035, and up to 50% of these will be wholly or partially reliant on public chargepoints. In our joint response with Motability Operations Ltd to the Government’s ZEV Mandate consultation, we emphasised the importance of ensuring public chargepoints are accessible to all. To achieve this, we believe that the BSI PAS 1899 standard should be mandated by law. The standard, which we co-sponsored, provides clear guidance to industry on how to make all types of public chargepoint accessible. We also believe that no public money should be used to fund inaccessible chargepoints. Read the full joint response here: https://lnkd.in/eW6pgeHz

🎉 We are delighted to award the Community Transport Association (CTA) a two-year research grant totalling £324,317 - exploring how community transport can overcome barriers to travel for disabled children and young people. CTA will work with disabled people's organisations, community transport operators, disabled children, young people and their families to understand their needs and experiences. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3CWQVEG #AccessibleTransport #Disability #Grants #Research

We are expanding our endorsement of assessment schemes run by AccessAble, BPA - British Parking Association and BSI Assurance UK that check the accessibility of public EV chargepoints. These assessment schemes give providers and manufacturers a way of checking if their public chargepoints conform with the PAS 1899 accessible charging standard. The PAS 1899 standard, which we co-sponsored alongside UK Government, provides industry with a clear specification for making chargepoints accessible. We’re continuing to support the uptake of the standard, and our endorsed assessment schemes and provide a way for organisations to check whether their chargepoints are meeting the accessibility standard. Chargepoint providers, landowners, local authorities and manufacturers can contact AccessAble, British Parking Association or BSI Assurance UK directly to arrange assessments. Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/4gVbJuo And find out more about our work making public EV charging accessible to all: https://bit.ly/49ozJCD #AccessibleTransport #EV #PAS1899 #ElectricVehicles

We are delighted to share that we're looking for a confident, driven, Media and PR professional to join our lovely Communications team. This role suits someone who enjoys variety and is keen to make an impact, leading our Media and PR activity. Please follow the link below to hear more! https://lnkd.in/e5BdQmqK

📚 Only 10% of disabled people have used a shared micromobiltiy vehicle. This is one of the key findings from our new research, carried out by RiDC (Research Institute for Disabled Consumers) and CoMoUK. The report identified significant barriers to access for disabled people - these included inaccessible vehicle designs, low confidence in using the services, and a real lack of awareness about how to find and book them. As well as highlighting three priority areas for improvements: ⭐ Accessible Vehicle Design: Develop vehicles that safely meet the needs of disabled users and pedestrians. ⭐ Accessible Digital Platforms: Ensure booking apps and service platforms are user-friendly and inclusive. ⭐ Awareness and Education: Empower disabled people with the knowledge and confidence to both understand what shared micromobility services are and how to access these services. Read all key findings and the full report here: https://bit.ly/40TzBto #Accessibility #AccessibleTransport #Disability #Transport #Innovation #Research

🎉 We're delighted to have awarded Your Voice Counts a Travelling with Confidence grant for two years totalling £788,896. Your Voice Counts will be working with five partners in the North East and Cumbria to help people with learning differences develop skills for travelling independently. The organisations are Adapt North East, Bridge Creative, Darlington Association on Disability, We are People First, and Skills for People, and have consulted people with learning differences to understand their barriers to travel. 📚 They found 93% felt that travel training would lead to increased independence and freedom, and travel would be easier with a buddy to help and guide them when they were anxious or worried. Read more about their project here: https://bit.ly/42TEx34 #Disability #Grant #TravellingwithConfidence #TravelBuddies

📄 The National Centre for Accessible Transport (ncat) conducted surveys and interviews to understand the challenges faced by transport designers, when designing accessible transport. They identified four key recommendations for improvement: ✔️ Incentivise an accessibility design standard. ✔️ Establish relationships in the design decision-making process. ✔️ At the outset, challenge the preconceptions of a design brief. ✔️ Improve engagement of disabled people's lived experience for better decision-making. Read their full report here: https://bit.ly/40V4IDT #AccessibleTransport #Disability

Today is #ReclaimSocial - an annual campaign dedicated to sharing all things positive on social media, and we'd like to take this moment to spread a bit of joy by introducing Eva... Eva's family received an Advance Payment grant for their car from the Motability Foundation, which has helped make their journeys stress-free. “It's no exaggeration to say the grant has changed our lives. This car has given us freedom to go to the park with the kids’ scooters, the local beaches, or even the supermarket together as a family" said Eva's dad, Steven. We're proud to have supported Eva and her family... and we LOVE these photos! 💜 Read Eva's story: https://bit.ly/4cVzdxt #AccessibleTransport #Disability #Positivity