On Monday 2 February 2026, we launched the results of our Travel With Confidence challenge documenting the real-world challenges faced by wheelchair users and people with limited mobility every day.
With just 48 hours’ notice, six people with spinal cord injuries from across the UK were challenged to plan and complete a journey to Central London using two forms of public transport, capturing and rating their experience through video diaries.
Despite careful planning, only one participant completed the challenge using two forms of public transport, yet he still faced critical barriers including taxi rejection. Five others failed to complete their journeys as intended, with one unable to even leave his property.
80% of participants experienced delays of 35-65 minutes beyond journey planner estimates due to inaccessible Tubes, broken lifts, taxi refusals, and waiting for assistance that didn’t arrive.
The campaign exposes an ‘accessibility lottery’, where disabled passengers face dramatically different experiences depending on where they live and travel. Even participants who scored journeys at 7–8/10 still encountered single barriers severe enough to derail their plans:
- Harriet was forced into a £52 taxi when the Tube had no lift at Charing Cross, resulting in a 185% increase over her planned train fare.
- Three participants scored 7-8/10 overall yet faced barriers that made journeys “unacceptable.”
- Two participants scored toilets 0/10
- Even participants with 10/10 staff assistance scores experienced extreme stress (10/10) and infrastructure failures, including dangerously steep ramps, lack of signage, and no accessible entrances to Tube stations.
I don’t have the luxury of having access to travel and would like people to acknowledge that. The fact I can’t get out of my property is a major issue, I can’t even get to the bus stop to catch the bus because the pavement infrastructure around here is not ideal.
While all participants faced barriers in their journeys, Stephen from rural Mid Wales couldn’t attempt the challenge due to inaccessible pavements preventing him from reaching the bus stop, a local station with no toilet facilities, and a requirement to give 2 hours’ advance notice just to board a train with assistance.
Chelsea Fleming, Programme Director at the Motability Foundation, said:
This research shows the significant challenges that wheelchair users and people with limited mobility face using public transport. At the Motability Foundation we are committed to supporting robust evidence that highlights where barriers persist and what action is needed to address these. Only with this insight can we work towards a transport network that is genuinely inclusive, and supports transport equity.
Meet our travellers
The five people travelling were Stephen from Mid Wales, Sarah-Jane from Kent, Chris from Wiltshire, Harriet from Peterborough, Colin from Scarborough, and Danny from Matlock, Derby:
Colin
Chris
Danny
Sarah-Jane
Harriet
Help us to raise awareness
We’re calling on people to share their experiences by writing to their local MP and posting on social media using the hashtag #AccessibleTravel.
We have created an email template that you can use to contact your MP all you need to do is:
- Visit this website and put in your postcode to find your MP’s email
- Click on the link below to download and copy and paste our template into an email
- Put in your MP’s email, MP’s name, your name, and your postcode
- Send!
