One in ten rail journeys made by the disabled or elderly have seen the vulnerable passengers fail to receive any of the assistance they requested from operators, according to new research.
The Research Institute for Consumer Affairs (RICA) found that on 10% of journeys vulnerable passengers had not received any of the assistance they had booked, with blind passengers left to wander stations on their own with no information on how to find help.
One blind passenger told researchers there was 'usually' no information given or available on how to find staff.
'Telling blind people to just find staff is not useful as if you can't see you can't do this! No information on meeting points given or available,' they said.
Worst offenders include Chiltern Railways, which provided the booked assistance to vulnerable pasengers just 43% of the time and Northern Rail, which had an average around 56.5%.
In the first part of a survey for the Association of Train Operating Companies regarding its national Passenger Assist Scheme, the research found only 59% felt confident or very confident when travelling; with the more elderly and those with learning disabilities being least confident.
Users were 'largely satisfied' with the service but identified these major gaps in standards.
Respondents rated just 69% of their journeys as good or very good. Satisfaction levels with rail staff ranged from 60% (on-train – help in getting to seats was only available for 77% of the time) to 70% (on-station) and 80% (when booking, mainly by phone) – although 12% of passengers had received no confirmation of their bookings.
It was easy to get information on routes and times for 84% of journeys, but much less so when it came to guidance on station facilities (68%) and accessibility (65%).
The first part of the study followed 51 disabled passengers who made 474 journeys across the national rail network between April 2014 and March 2015. The second and final part will run until April 2016. RICA is a national consumer research charity focusing on the needs of the disabled.
