Introduction to the research study
On March 4th, the University of Warwick released a research project for people to get involved in. This particular research project was pioneered by PhD researcher, Shravani Sharma, at the University of Warwick- the topic of interest being wellbeing and transport.
Driving is not a skill everybody has- and is potentially not even the economic solution people are looking to use
If you are within the age bracket of 25 to 29, many would probably think “that’s no problem, people that age are driving to work no problem.” But what if you have a disability, that prevents you from having that supposed luxury of doing so? I say supposed luxury, because I know a few people who are not disabled, but don’t have a car anymore purely because of the cost.
Unfortunately for both disabled and non-disabled people, the reliability of transport leaves a lot to be desired, and this ends up having a negative impact on wellbeing.
Rural area problems
The problem with transport seems to be very much a rural region kind of issue. When I am in a city, particular a city in the Midlands with this being my region and I see a reliable and effective public transport network, I think “what a novelty that is!”
In the smaller towns we are not so well-served by public transport and this leaves people like myself in limbo.
As we well know after extensive research being done on this topic, disabled people drive economic growth, so the impact of having a thriving public transport network wouldn’t just help in terms of independence getting to work, but also improve social outcomes for disabled people who make a significant contribution economically to society.
What about those who work part-time?
With buses being unreliable at the best of times, and a lack of alternatives, it makes the lives of those who work part-time even more impractical. If there is one thing that signals the need for drastic improvements to be made- this is it!
When you are at home more than you are in the office throughout the average week, you need to be able to get to the office, or wherever you work, and be able to get home again afterwards.
If you are like me, you will have a bus pass that you can scan and your travel is free of charge. But this is only because my working hours have been amended to suit this scenario. Now, I may well be disabled, but this does not mean that I want people to have to jump through more hoops than they should need to in order for me to be of use. The problem would be inflated if I was a full-time employee, as there is a specific time frame between which my travel is free of charge. This is another barrier which needs to be removed!
The question is…
So… What will be done to improve public transport infrastructure to then improve the health outcomes for disabled people in particular? My curiosity has peaked.