Over 120 students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) from schools and colleges across Nottinghamshire have recently been welcomed by both Nottingham Express Transit (NET) and Nottingham City Transport (NCT) for a series of “Try a Tram” and “Try a Bus” events.
The idea behind the days was to offer a safe and supportive introduction to travelling around the city, enabling SEND students to explore tram and bus stops, and meet support staff and drivers.
The sessions gave students the opportunity to gain practical knowledge of using public transport so they could feel more comfortable planning and making journeys across the city. The initiative has been created in order to build confidence and familiarity with the two transport services.
Luke Taylor, Customer Experience Manager at NET, said: “We’re always looking at ways to improve education and accessibility across our network, because we believe it’s incredibly important that all tram users feel confident when travelling with us. It’s something we’re really passionate about, and we have a range of initiatives and tools to help us on that mission.
“Events like these really help to reinforce our commitment, as they allow us to provide more hands-on practical support, while empowering SEND students to travel independently. We know that for some, busy trams can be a daunting environment, especially those with special educational needs, but through initiatives such as ‘Try a Tram’ and ‘Try a Bus’, we’re pleased to hopefully be able to encourage more people to us public transport to explore all our city has to offer.”
In addition to these special days, NET have a number of other initiatives in place to support independent travel for all. These include accessibility guides developed with visual communication provider Widgit, audio guides and help videos created with Thomas Pocklington Trust, staff training, passenger support and proactive engagement with mobility scooters users to ensure they know how to part safely.