Breaking barriers lesson 3: campaigning for accessible public transport

Main activity

Analyse the article using the PowerPoint above as a starting point for discussion.

Ask

• What does the writer think of Barbara? 
• How can you tell what his views are from the way the article is written?

Show children the section of the Transport for All (TFA) website about public transport.

Explain that, although the Disabled People’s Direct Action Network – which was set up by Barbara and Alan – is no longer active, TFA is one of several organisations that campaign for change and improvements in the transport system to improve life for people with impairments.

Put pupils into groups, ask each to use the website to find information about one of the three types of public transport highlighted by TFA – buses and coaches, light rail or trains. Ask each group to look at the drop-down menus under the section on ‘barriers’ and identify three facts that they think people should know about the challenges facing Disabled people when using public transport.

Ask pupils what they can remember from the article about Barbara and what she did.

Use PowerPoint E to remind them of her achievements. Help them to define the highlighted words in the text.

Barbara mentions how she needs to use a ramp to get on or off trains. Can they think of anything else that helps to make travel easier for people with a range of impairments (think back to the examples cited in lesson 1)?

All pupils

With talk partners, discuss how it might feel to be excluded from travelling by public transport because of a disability. Discuss with the whole group and collate their responses.

Dyslexia is a form of neurological difference that affects around ten per cent of the population. Each person’s experience of dyslexia is unique. It is a specific learning difficulty which primarily affects reading and writing skills, as well as processing and remembering information they see and hear. Dyslexia can also impact on organisational skills, which are important when planning journeys.

Use Powerpoint F - Dyslexia and public transport, to discuss how this could impact on people’s ability to use public transport.

Although there are solutions (spoken announcements, information in picture form etc) these are often not available. Given that dyslexia is a common difference affecting millions of people, is this surprising? What does it tell us about society’s progress towards removing barriers that effect Disabled people?

More recently, other activists have continued Barbara’s fight to break down barriers for Disabled people. Sophie Morgan is a TV presenter who has campaigned to improve access to air travel for people with impairments.

Doug Paulley won a court battle against his local bus company which means that it must do more to ensure that wheelchair users are able to travel on local buses. You can find images of Sophie and Doug on Powerpoint G - Sophie and Doug.

Watch this Channel 4 news clip about Doug.

Discuss with the class. His victory is described as a ‘partial’ one as it only requires bus companies to make greater efforts to ask people to move out of wheelchair spaces. As the clip shows, some people still refuse to do so which suggests that legal changes alone aren’t enough.

One improvement would be for buses to include more space for wheelchairs. We also need to raise awareness about the benefits of improving access to public transport for Disabled people.

Write a persuasive letter to the prime minister explaining why they should invest in accessible transport. The letter should cover the following points:

• How would having full access to public transport make people with impairments feel? (Happier, more included etc).
• What are the advantages of making transport more accessible? (People can get to work more easily, visit friends and family etc).
• Why is it the right thing to do? (It makes society fairer; we all pay for public transport through taxes so everyone should be able to use it etc.)