Accessible Transport Isn’t Just About Infrastructure – It’s About Attitude

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A picture of a train standing in a platform with four people on the platform. One is a white man in a wheelchair, one is a white woman with a white cane. One is a black member of staff member wearing a high viz jacket and the other is a white man who appears to be accompanying the woman?

Every so often, another report lands reminding us that disabled people still travel far less than everyone else. The latest research from the National Centre for Accessible Transport (NCAT) and the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RiDC) shows that disabled people make 38% fewer journeys than non-disabled people — and that figure hasn’t changed in over ten years.

You’d think that after decades of work on accessibility, that gap would be closing. But NCAT’s new report, Invisible Barriers: How Public Attitudes Affect Inclusive Travel, makes it clear that the problem isn’t just about step-free stations or broken lifts. It’s about people’s attitudes.

The invisible barrier we don’t talk about

NCAT found that 59% of disabled travellers regularly encounter negative attitudes — from staff, fellow passengers, or even bystanders. The stories are painful, and sadly familiar.

People are disbelieved when they ask for help, mocked for using mobility aids, or blamed for causing delays. One person said:

“I’m in my thirties, and people say, ‘You’re too young to be disabled. Why are you using a walking stick?’ It’s really disheartening.”

Another described being shouted at by passengers when a bus ramp failed:

“They said I was making them late for work or picking up their kids. I just wanted to get home.”

These aren’t isolated incidents. They’re everyday experiences that wear people down. Many disabled people simply avoid travelling alone — or stop going out altogether.

Why attitudes matter

The report highlights something many of us have known for years: the most significant obstacles aren’t always physical. They’re social.

Politicians and the media still too often portray disabled people as “scroungers” or “burdens,” and that seeps into public behaviour. The impact is enormous. People spoke about anxiety, panic attacks, and even suicidal thoughts linked to these encounters.

It’s a reminder that accessibility isn’t just about ramps, kerbs or ticket machines. It’s about how people are treated.

What needs to change

The research calls for three key changes:

  1. Co-production, not consultation – Disabled people must help design transport systems, not just comment on them afterwards. As campaigners used to say back in the 1980s: “Nothing about us without us.” That principle still holds true — but it’s too often forgotten.

  2. Education and awareness – We need proper training for staff and public campaigns that help people see disability as part of everyday life, not as an inconvenience.

  3. Leadership and regulation – We need clear signals from government and industry that discrimination won’t be tolerated.

These aren’t radical ideas. They’re the basics of inclusion — listening, learning, and treating people with respect.

Changing hearts as well as systems

I’ve spent enough years in this field to see that investment in infrastructure often outpaces investment in understanding. We can build accessible buses, trains, and stations — but if a driver won’t lower the ramp, or a passenger refuses to move from a wheelchair space, the journey stops before it begins.

The truth is simple: attitudes are infrastructure, too.

We can redesign transport systems all we like, but until we redesign how society thinks about disability, inclusion will always lag behind.

It’s time to change the attitude, not just the access.

NCAT’s report is a timely reminder that the most complex barriers to inclusion aren’t always visible. It’s not the kerb height or the platform gap — it’s the sigh, the stare, or the disbelief that someone really needs help.

Accessibility isn’t just built into buses and stations — it’s built into how we treat each other. Until that changes, too many disabled people will keep planning their journeys around fear rather than freedom.

Read the full report:

Invisible Barriers: How Public Attitudes Affect Inclusive Travel


Available at www.ncat.uk

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