"Have You Booked?" undermines Turn Up and Go
The unintended consequences of an unquestioned system
You can listen to the main article in this newsletter (read by me).
Hello everyone,
This week, I had several railway-related meetings. What was apparent to me was how much the industry still relies on disabled people to book their assistance, and it takes this for granted.
Turn-up-and-go (TUAG) is still seen as some kind of anarchy. Realistically, if you want to live an independent life, go to work, have a social life, attend health appointments, and so on, it’s not possible to always book your journey. You don't want to waste a lot of time at stations waiting for your booked journey home after an 8-hour workday. Or if a meeting takes longer than expected, you might miss your booked journey. It causes unnecessary stress for people who already have to plan their day far more than non-disabled people.
The burden is on disabled people
Booking assistance puts the burden on disabled customers to organise their assistance instead of the industry organising themselves to be able to assist disabled people when they need it. It is a matter of equality.
Even when booking is not necessary because the stations are staffed anyways and assistance is a phone call away to the destination, people ask if customers have booked. That creates a culture where disabled people have to defend or explain themselves before travelling, even though it’s not necessary when two staffed stations are involved in the journey. Sometimes “Have you booked?” replaces a friendly greeting or a “How are you?”.
Because disabled people are constantly put in the position to defend themselves when they have not booked, it creates situations where disabled people will not travel at all but will search for other options. They get indirectly told spontaneity is not for them, while everyone else jumps on a train whenever they want. This is a huge issue economically and socially.
“Have you booked?” is unwelcoming
Before I worked in the railway industry and before I knew the system inside out, I used my car quite a lot. Often, I drove to my next tube station because I could turn up and go, and no one would raise an eyebrow.
When passengers get constantly asked if they have booked and when the railway industry builds systems around a booking system instead of encouraging people to turn up and go, they create barriers. They force the customers to adjust to the industry, not the other way around.
It’s creating an unwelcoming system that kills spontaneity, even though it would work totally fine if people just turned up and asked for assistance at many stations. The biggest pushback I get when I want to TUAG is at big stations with a lot of staff. So it’s not just a staffing issue; it’s a cultural issue first and foremost.
Some people say, "Yeah, but some disabled people want to book." That's true. But behind this urge to book is often the fear of "If I don't book, I will get told off" or "I won't find the member of staff if they don't know that I'm coming." Even so, it's still not guaranteed that this will happen even if people book.
In fact, we would need a system where passengers can say, "I'm at this area, or I'm at the entrance. Can you please come to me?" Instead, we tell people where to go, e.g., to a meeting point. And no, we don’t need another customer app for this. WhatsApp is good for this and most customers have it on their mobile already.
The customers are making adjustments
So, the whole system is based on the customer making adjustments to be able to travel because of the lack of accessibility. The customers don’t travel spontaneously; they fill in booking forms, and they use a certain train because that’s what they have booked.
And to make things worse, the booking forms are unnecessarily long and have a bad user experience.
There are some better solutions, though. I book everything through the LNER or Southeastern app. Their usability is good, at least, but it still costs me time.
I think it is far overdue that this culture is tackled because it prevents disabled people from living full lives. Passenger Assist needs a complete overhaul. Booking is not the future.
The generations after me want spontaneous travel when they become disabled, especially in commuter areas. Level boarding will play a big role in this, too. A whole culture shift is needed to enable true equality in the future.
Don’t ask people if they have booked; ask them where they want to go and how you can help, and then tell them when they will be able to board. It’s really that simple.
Wow!
This newsletter has reached 500 subscribers this month, and another 3000 people read it on Substack in the past 30 days.
When I started this newsletter, I wanted to reach maybe 100 like-minded people passionate about accessibility. So I’m over the moon that so many people have subscribed. Thank you!
Your curiosity, engagement and support helped me to create valuable content.
I would be happy if you could recommend the newsletter to colleagues and friends!
Have a great week!
Christiane Link
Some interesting links
Greater Anglia has launched an online virtual tour of its stations and trains. Witham Station has become the 18th Greater Anglia station that passengers can visit virtually before travelling. Passengers can also walk through the train and look at facilities like toilets and wheelchair spaces.
Screenshot Greater Anglia virtual tour American Airlines is the first US airline to launch an automated tag for mobility devices like wheelchairs. According to American Airlines, the new automated tags, replacing the previous manual tags, feature customer- and device-specific data like itineraries, delivery points, device weight, battery type and the number of items removed and taken on board. This additional information will ensure more accurate and consistent information for team members handling the mobility devices and provide enhanced visibility of the devices throughout customers’ travel journeys.
Portsmouth City Council has revealed a pressing need to address the limited availability of wheelchair-accessible vehicles among licensed taxis and private hire vehicles. According to a council report, only 36% of hackney carriages and just 3% of private hire vehicles are wheelchair accessible. And Portsmouth is facing a pretty common issue for local councils. If they don’t manage it through their taxi licencing, the availability of accessible vehicles won’t improve.
Something to watch
A conversation with Apple’s Global Head of Accessibility, Sarah Herrlinger, about the company’s decades-long commitment to accessibility and disabled users. At Apple, accessibility is a human right and a core value, which has lead to breakthroughs across products and services.
Something to listen to
Rory Sutherland shares insights on selling a £500 Hoover, making a flight delay pleasurable, improving the London Tube map, persuading effectively, making cafes more popular, and stopping drunk drivers. He explores counterintuitive ideas in academia and business, emotional metrics in rail companies, marketing strategies and human behaviour prediction.
Some final words
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Who is writing this newsletter?
I’m Christiane Link, and I improve the customer experience in aviation, transport, and travel. I worked as a journalist for over two decades and travelled extensively for business and leisure. I’m a wheelchair user.
Work with me
Whether you're a Customer service director, a Head of Customer Experience, a corporate Accessibility manager, a DEI leader, a transport planner, or a disabled employee resource group member, I can help you to make your organisation more inclusive. You can book me for speaking engagements or hire me as a consultant for your accessibility or DEI strategy, communications advice and other related matters. I have worked for airlines, airports, train operators, public transport providers, and companies in other sectors.
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