Emma meets the Dream Team: Talking Transport with Pembrokeshire People First

The wonderfully named Dream Team at Pembrokeshire People First, a charity that supports those with a learning disability, joined CTA and Transport for Wales at an engagement event on Bus Reform in South West Wales. They had been thinking about the issues facing them and their friends when trying to use or access transport in what is quite a rural area. We held a space for a chat workshop where they could look at the reforms proposed and discuss the barriers they faced. They were able to highlight the fact that transport makes them feel independent and that, by feeling they have limited access—be it because of a lack of services, a lack of accessible information, or a lack of understanding of their needs—they faced barriers to travel that they found very difficult.

They invited me to attend one of their Stay Social events so I could talk to the wider group, where friends, supporters and volunteers come together to have lunch, do a craft, and listen to people such as myself talk with them about the things that matter to them. So one afternoon, I went along to talk about transport.

It was a great afternoon and, alongside Tom Moses, the project facilitator and a wonderful man who supported all my IT needs on the day, I heard so much that was positive from the group—the fact that they valued the freedom transport gives them and how having good transport enables them to live good lives. However, I also heard how one bad experience can really make them think twice and can often leave them not feeling able to use transport again. For example, a lady wants to use the bus to get to college two days a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. But the first Friday she tried to use it, the bus was not where she expected it to be, so she missed it. Now she will use it on a Tuesday but will never use it on a Friday again. This is the impact of not having clear communication pathways for passengers that they understand.

Others were frustrated at the lack of buses and at times when they wanted to use them, also feeling vulnerable when getting on in a wheelchair. Some used community transport and had good experiences, but some did not always want to prebook as it limited spontaneous journeys. We looked at two versions of an easy-read timetable, and even these created discussions, as one was felt to be easier to read than the other, and they said they would still find navigating a timetable hard.

The meeting has led to a more open dialogue between CTA and Pembrokeshire People First that we can build on and that enables us to start conversations with our operators in the area to see what support can be given—especially around access to the Stay Social events themselves, which are obviously key to people feeling connected and having fun. We have much to learn from speaking to people with lived experience and, as always, it often asks of us more questions than we expected. It is important, however, to continue to work in this way and to consider the needs of all who value using transport so we can enable them to travel in the ways that best meet their needs.

I finish on a positive. I spoke to one group who live in a small town and who use the bus on a regular basis. One gentleman will never go out for a walk, but once the bus is mentioned he is out of the door heading to the bus stop. Why is this? Well, it is because of Jill the bus driver—known as Jill the Bus—and their community. They make every journey feel like community; they talk to this gentleman and his friends, they support them even when, on most trips, they do not even get off the bus. They just go for the journey, and that journey is, as we always say, so much more than a journey for these passengers.

Thank you to Pembrokeshire People First for inviting me, and we look forward to working alongside you in the future.