A sunflower lanyard symbolising the wearer has a hidden disability, will now be recognised across all of Britain’s rail companies.<\/p>\n
The sunflower scheme aims to give raise awareness for people with non-visible disabilities who may need extra support or assistance with their day.<\/p>\n
All train operators and Network Rail are now signed up to the scheme, with staff being trained to identify those who choose to wear a lanyard or show a card.<\/p>\n
It’s part of a drive to make the railway network more accessible for disabled people. Frontline staff at rail companies are receiving training covering accessibility and inclusion as well as how to provide additional support to disabled passengers.<\/p>\n
According to James Taylor at Scope, research shows that half of disabled people have experienced negative attitudes using public transport.<\/p>\n
He said: In recent weeks, disabled people who are exempt from wearing face masks have told us they have been challenged by others while travelling.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe expect to see more good work like this across the industry to improve attitudes towards disability and make travelling easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Director of Nations and Regions at the Rail Delivery Group, Robert Nisbet said: \u201cWe want the railway to be accessible for everyone. The Sunflower scheme can help people with non-visible disabilities feel more confident asking for assistance, whether that\u2019s to buy a ticket, find their way or get reassurance that the next train is theirs. Passengers returning to train travel after lockdown will also benefit from wider staff training to improve disability awareness and the 8,000 new, more accessible train carriages we are introducing by 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n
More from Chopsy Baby<\/strong> A sunflower lanyard symbolising the wearer has a hidden disability, will now be recognised across all of Britain’s rail companies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":39820,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[222,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bristol-send","category-bristol-news"],"yoast_head":"\n
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