Liam O’Dell: Make the case for deaf-friendly travel in Govia’s consultation

Deaf rail passengers frustrated at an inaccessible system may finally have an opportunity to make change happen.

Off the back of last year’s timetable farce, Govia Thameslink (the operators behind Great Northern, Thameslink and Southern) have been given £15 million to spend on “tangible improvements for passengers” in the form of a Passenger Benefit Fund.

As a consultation period opens, deaf travellers can suggest real, practical and beneficial changes to boost access for deaf and hard of hearing people.

My previous comments on the issue did more to highlight the issues deaf people face, as opposed to offering a solution.

As with most barriers deaf people face, it’s often social media – the digital home for many disabled communities – where they can be effectively challenged, so I called for people to share their experiences of poor rail access with the hashtag #GiveUsASign.

To the Government and the rail providers themselves, I called for wide-ranging accessibility improvements for all disabilities.

Now, one rail provider wants to hear from us (for those who are outside the reach of Govia Thameslink, one hopes an opportunity for you to have your say will come soon).

The possible benefits the fund could bring are broken down into local and national improvements.

Ignoring the suggestion of playing classical music at your nearest railway station (something which would give the Monday morning commute a horrifying soundtrack), one idea from Govia is to have more customer information screens on the platform.

As someone who has previously complained about the lack of accessible screens, this is welcomed, but it would be even better if the fund could provide upgrades to screens on the trains themselves.

As much as deaf people should know about a train journey before they board, anxiety can also come with not knowing where exactly the train is headed due to delay information only being provided over an inaccessible tannoy system.

Then again, I’m keen not to be critical unnecessarily – this fund is station-specific as opposed to trains visiting multiple stops on its route.

If one screen on a platform is broken, doubling up will no doubt relieve some stress that deaf passengers may normally experience if there’s no quick and easy way to find out travel information.

Yet this brings me on to one of the wider improvements that has been suggested: around updates to the rail operator’s mobile apps.

As much as delay information should be made available in written form as well as over the tannoy, it’s also about the consistency of the messaging around these problems.

A rail operator’s Twitter account will give different information to what’s on the mobile app or said over a tannoy.

Screen displays often only say ‘delayed’ – you’re in luck if further information is provided.

So, when rail operators talk of providing real-time journey details on mobile apps during periods of disruption, this is something we as a community should push for, whilst also making sure that such information is the same wherever it appears.

What’s more, is that different types of passengers will be responding to the consultation, and so the wider question of ‘what’s in it for me’ is asked by hearing travellers.

Yet as previously detailed in another article of mine here on The Limping Chicken, a deaf-friendly rail system benefits every passenger.

If an improved mobile app for passengers provides the information we need, the anxiety and uncertainty disappears and from a rail company standpoint, there’s fewer tweets to respond to from customers wondering why their train has been held at a red signal for 20 minutes now.

We have a chance to make the case for deaf-friendly travel, and we should take this opportunity while we can.

You have until 31 July 2019 to share your thoughts and make the case for deaf-friendly travel. You can find out more about the Passenger Benefit Fund on the official website.

Photo by Ollie Cole. 

Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and blogger from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.