Provisions for people with learning disabilities: Warrington Borough Council
A4.82 Warrington Borough Council has produced an "Independent Travel Training" package, aimed at assisting people with learning disabilities, people who are blind or partially sighted, people who cannot read and people from ethnic minority and faith communities.
Description of the scheme
A4.83 The Borough Council has put together a Travel Training Package as part of its Independent Travel Training programme. This includes the following:
- Travel wallet
- Real-time information key fob
- Training manual
- Travel game
- Video and DVD
A4.84 Independent Travel Training is targeted at four core target groups: people with learning disabilities, people who are blind or partially sighted, people who cannot read, and people from ethnic minority and faith communities.
A4.85 The travel wallet, shown in Figure A4.8 (with the key fob), is a direct derivative of what was originally used by pensioners in Warrington. The wallet contains photographs of the user's home and key destinations normally visited by the user, as well as local landmarks, emergency contact details and the number of the local travel information service. It contains details of the main bus routes used, with illustrative photographs of the start and finish point and the bus number associated with each route. The wallet also alerts the driver to the fact that the user might require extra assistance, and confirms that the user is entitled to a concessionary fare. In short, the wallet helps the driver and user communicate on the details of a desired trip. There is one wallet available per bus route.
A4.86 Materials are also available in "Makaton", if required. (Makaton is a well established language programme for encouraging and developing communication using speech, signs and written symbols; it was originally devised by a speech and language therapist, in response to the practical need for a communication system for a group of people with communication and learning difficulties and their carers).
A4.87 A Key Fob is also available to users; this can be used to activate real time audio announcements at stops. To date there have been around 100 key fobs given out to disabled people; Warrington Disability Information Service is one of the distributors of these key fobs, and work is currently in progress to provide real time audio information at a number of bus stops in the Borough. The bus shelters themselves are provided for free by a company called Adshel (for using space for advertising). There are currently 150 Real Time Passenger Information ( RTPI) bus shelters with the key fob facility - soon this number is set to rise to 225.
A4.88 The Travel Training Package, which was originally promoted among special schools and day centres, contains many elements, including a specially-designed travel "game", a training manual and a video and DVD. Not all of these elements are appropriate for all participants, and the approach is for there to be a "pick & mix" of tools, according to the needs of the individual.
Figure A4.8: Warrington Borough Council's travel wallet and key fob
A4.89 The Borough Council tries to make links between the Independent Travel Training package and other initiatives that are in place to help disabled people, and other people targeted by the scheme, to travel more easily. Other initiatives in Warrington include,
- Low floor buses, which are of benefit to wheelchair users, people who have difficulty with steps, parents with pushchairs and buggies etc. There are now 46 low floor buses in Warrington.
- Disability Awareness Training is compulsory for drivers of taxis and Private Hire Vehicles. An additional 15 accessible taxis are being added to the Warrington fleet every year. Furthermore, a shuffle board is supplied in each hackney carriage to assist all wheelchair users to transfer to a seat, if required.
- Warrington has its own local version of the national public transport information telephone service "traveline".
- There are also a number of accessible transport services provided by the Community Transport sector, such as Ring and Ride, whose service includes the provision of shuffle boards, induction loops etc.
Area and population, and type of trips facilitated
A4.90 Warrington is an urban area situated within the largely rural and affluent county of Cheshire, in North-West England. The Local Authority is a Unitary Authority, and the set up is such that all aspects public transport provision fall under one umbrella, namely an "Integrated Passenger Transport Unit", involving one co-ordinator overseeing five main areas, namely: Public transport, Taxi and Private Hire, Transport for older people and adults with special needs, Fleet operations transport, and Education transport. Warrington itself had a population of 80,661 in 2001; approximately 4,000 are wheelchair users.
Parties involved in the planning, funding and operation of the scheme
A4.91 Funding is derived from the following sources,
- Warrington Borough Council.
- Warrington Disability Forum.
- Social Services.
- National Health Service
- Warrington Borough Transport (an operator at "arms length" from the Council).
User feedback
A4.92 Whilst feedback has generally been ad hoc, the scheme appears to have been well received from the umbrella group for organisations representing the interests of disabled people in the Borough, Warrington Disability Forum. There was also good feedback on the scheme during Warrington Disability Awareness Day, which is an annual event held in Warrington by, and for, local people ( www.disabilityawarenessday.co.uk ). Feedback from day centres and special schools is currently being sought.
A4.93 A formal overall evaluation is difficult, due to the time and resource requirement, and also because there is difficulty in providing an evaluation for a "snapshot" in time - any evaluation conducted would be out of date by the time of completion. There has therefore been no specific evaluation of the Independent Travel Training package. The package has, however, won several awards, including a bus industry award, and demand for the services and resources described above already outstrip the resources currently available.
A4.94 When asked about the issue of usage levels and evaluations of the scheme, sources within Warrington BC have stressed that the whole travel training initiative is based upon the principle of increasing the level of service to existing users, and is not about increasing the number of users.
Costs, revenue and subsidy required
A4.95 There was no designated budget for the Independent Travel Training scheme; it was created using resources from a number of budgets. It is understood, however, that each key fob costs £15, and that each Real Time Passenger Information ( RTPI) unit costs £3,000, (the money for the latter being drawn from a £5million Government Grant). Raised boarding points at bus stops have been financed from the Highways budget (amounting to some £100,000 per year).
A4.96 These figures can be contrasted with the grant of £164,000 per year that is put towards funding the Borough's Dial-a-Ride service.
Sustainability and plans for expansion
A4.97 Warrington BC is trying to extend travel training to the road safety area (to include children and schools). However, the package in its current format has reached something of a plateau, since it has met the objectives that were set out. The future creation of a new, fully accessible bus station in Warrington should further promote the use of public transport by disabled people in the Borough.