Parliament Workbench

Petition · PE01575 · Session 4

Accessible Rail Travel

Closed Submitted 10 Jul 2015 Transport
Signatures
1
145 online signatures with a country
Comments
10
Considered
2 meetings
in the Official Report

What it asks

Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to take more steps to make the ScotRail fleet accessible to the visually impaired, including standardising buttons on ScotRail's fleet and providing high visibility clothing for its station workers.

What the petitioner did first

I have contacted the offices of Kenny MacAskill MSP and Dennis Robertson MSP. On 19 June 2015, I also spoke at a Community Union event sponsored by Jayne Baxter MSP at the Scottish Parliament.
In addition to working with my union Community Union on this issue, I have also raised it with the Scottish Trades Union Congress and the Scottish Council of Visual Impairment.
As accessible rail transport is an issue that crosses the border, I have also been campaigning in Westminster. Before the dissolution of the UK Parliament, I had a petition collecting signatures through the UK Government’s E-Petitions system.

Where it was considered

Official Report
  1. 24 Nov 2015
    Public Petitions Committee
    New Petitions
    1 mention
  2. 26 Jan 2016
    Public Petitions Committee
    Continued Petitions
    1 mention

Signatures by country

145 online signatures
  1. Scotland89 61.4%
  2. United Kingdom27 18.6%
  3. England26 17.9%
  4. United States2 1.4%
  5. Wales1 0.7%

Comments

10 comments, oldest first
  1. Ann Elizabeth Carlisle 19 Jul 2015
    it should not need a petition of the Scottish Parliament to carry out something so needed if they used common sense. Get your fingers out and do this request Asaph.
  2. Frances Jones 21 Jul 2015
    Hope this petition is a success. A lot needs fixing in Scotland with rail travel . We have a perfectly good station but hardly any trains especially on a Sunday. Two carriages appear on a Saturday when young folk are queuing up to go to Glasgow terrible!!
  3. Thomas Cook 25 Jul 2015
    Hello Alex. Understand your frustration, but unless you get the UK government to change the PRM regulations, then Scotland can only make recommendations or make it part of the next franchise agreement like the scottish Saltire livery, but don't expect much as not all of the ScotRail fleet has the Saltire livery.
    ScotRail only lease the trains and cannot make changes to the vehicles without the lessors agreement and only if they pay for it.
  4. Wendy Croft 30 Jul 2015
    It is not only handicapped and blind people who suffer, it is us who have all our faculties as well but those who cannot see or function properly need the most help. It is a basic necessity for all.
  5. John Kay 2 Aug 2015
    More staff assistance necessary at most stations
  6. Bill Hardman 3 Aug 2015
    Hope the petition does well Alex. Hope we meet up soon. Miss your presence in meetings.
  7. Ian Tasker STUC Assistant Secretary 4 Aug 2015
    The STUC Disabled Workers Committee believes more needs to be done to make Scotland's railways and other forms of public more accessible to disabled people. The Committee supports this petition as being an important step in the right direction toward the aim of more accessible public transport for all disabled people, ensuring travellers with visual impairments can travel safely and with dignity.
  8. Terry Anderson 4 Aug 2015
    We need to make travelling by rail more enjoyable for everyone
    - these measures proposed by Alex Scott would help.
  9. Marie Watson 17 Aug 2015
    will make such a difference and give people confidence while travelling.
  10. Elizabeth H Scott 24 Aug 2015
    Why isn't this done already? It just makes sense!