Travel Training

Why might it be of interest?

Many of our young people might benefit from travel training but only those eligible for school transport are eligible for the AfC travel training programme and it is virtually impossible to find anyone else who could undertake the training.  It might be a little easier for our young people 18+ as there are a few services around but there’s nothing for under 18s.

Being able to travel independently, even if only on very specific journeys, can be a game changer for a young person.  It can be the difference between having a choice of college to go to and having to go to the nearest as that’s the only one manageable from a travel point of view; it might mean a young person can access social activities without a parent or PA accompanying them, for example.

Even if a young person never gets to travelling independently just having more confidence about being out and about is a benefit.

So, if your young person isn’t going to be eligible for a travel training service it’s going to be down to you or maybe a PA to support the young person.  The workshop was quite eye opening about what you need to know, be aware of, the approach to take, etc – there’s so much more than just going on journeys with your young person and hoping that they may be able to manage it on their own one day!

 

Molly, Anabel and Paula ran a workshop for parents of disabled young people to talk to us about travel training.  The AfC service is to support a young person towards independently travelling between home and school and home again.  These are transferable skills and the hope is that a young person will develop to other journeys; be increasingly independent; more confident in other areas of their lives.

The team can offer training in school holidays as well as term times.

The format is:

• Leading
• Training
• Shadowing
• Judging competence

The team use a comprehensive progress form which covers safety and targets.  A ‘disruption day’ is part of the training.  This is where the young person is given the chance to manage when things go wrong – but in a planned and controlled way with parents and a young person informed ahead of time.

The final step is when a young person makes the journey on their own and shadowed by another member of the team – someone other than the person they have trained with.  They know they are being shadowed; the name of the person; and that they can call on them for help if needed.  This step is only taken when their trainer is sure the young person is 100% confident.

The aim of the training is that the young person arrives at their destination ready to access school and not be overwhelmed by the journey.

The team can check in again when there is a new journey to make or a more complex journey.  One final comment before we go onto what we learned is that the team were lovely and any young person eligible for this service will be supported by experienced and kind staff.

Travel cards

 Zip card – an oyster card from 5 years old

• Google zip card to get the links for all the age groups

 Freedom pass – there are eligibility criteria for a Freedom card but allows the young person to use buses from 9am and trains and tubes from 9.30am

• Issued by your local authority
• You can see the eligibility criteria here: https://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/services/freedom-pass/am-i-eligible-freedom-pass

These are both London borough only cards

Railcard – for longer journeys.  There are different types of railcards which cut the cost by 1/3^rd for you but with a disabled person’s railcard your carer also gets 1/3^rd off:  https://www.railcard.co.uk/

Carers may be allowed to travel free on buses but it appears to be up to the driver.

Keep passes clear and up to date and it is a good idea to have other id as well

TfL have a blue badge you can wear to show that you need a seat:  https://tfl.gov.uk/transport-accessibility/please-offer-me-a-seat

And don’t forget the sunflower lanyard which is especially helpful for people with hidden disabilities and the sunflower supporter lanyard:  https://hdsunflower.com/uk/insights/post/for-people-with-non-visible-disabilities

Apps

There are a number of apps that can help with journey planning:

• To help us plan the journey
• To help us keep on track – eg when we need to change bus
• Sharing the journey with another person

The ones we talked about included:

• City Mapper
• Google Maps
• TfL journey planner
• Bus schedules
• Life 360

We probably use these ourselves so we’re familiar and can understand what our young person might need from the app.

For example, with City Mapper you can programme a journey; share the journey; and City Mapper should vibrate when a change is needed.  Other features include only using main thoroughfares (so no dodgy alleyways); voice directions; step free access.  We’re not sure if all the functions are free.

Life 360 is a family sharing app where you can track family members (and your keys!); you can see if someone’s battery is running low – but your young person can log out!

Do have a look at the apps that you are not familiar with to see what might work for you and your young person.

Most buses and trains have USB ports so even if your young person doesn’t want to carry a charger they could take a cable to plug in and charge on the go – low battery and running out of battery present risks to your young person.

Travel Tips

Plan ahead

This seems obvious, doesn’t it, but do we always do this and especially for local or shorter journeys?  Things not quite working out for us isn’t a huge problem but it may be for your young person.

Is the nearest bus stop the best one to use?

We all tend to go to the nearest bus stop or station – but is it the best one to use? For example, the bus stop in Teddington Broad Street near Boots has about 5 or 6 buses stopping at it.  If you go around the corner to Waldegrave Road – only a few minutes’ walk – the stop only has one bus; if you cross into the High Street the stop only has 2 buses.

So, a slightly further bus stop might be a bit less confusing to use.

This could apply to rail stations as well.  Twickenham and Richmond have a lot of trains stopping.  Strawberry Hill and Teddington have fewer but if these trains go to where you need to get to they might be easier to use – also only 2 platforms to navigate!

Try before you buy!

Basically, try any journey your young person might need to make yourself before expecting them to manage it.  This is especially important if you usually drive your young person as they won’t have made many journeys by public transport.

I think it’s important to do this without your young person so you can focus on your surroundings – spotting hazards, landmarks, alternate routes

Why?

• You can plan the route
• Consider alternative options – quicker via a short cut, longer via main roads for example
• Identify hazards – locate safer options, how can we reduce the risk
• Identify landmarks – if a young person phones you not knowing where they are having landmarks will help you more quickly work out where they are
• Identify safe places to wait if needed
• Identify safe people to ask for help – eg people in uniform, shop staff – this might be especially important if your young person tends to talk to anyone

While you can’t cover every eventuality you can talk to your young person about the most likely scenarios, eg:

• A stranger approaches them
• The road they usually take is closed
• Ask them what they think could happen on a journey to disrupt it
• Ask them what they would do
• TfL bus drivers are trained and should be able to help a vulnerable young person
• Model good behaviour yourself – eg, not walking along looking at your phone

We were sent out in small groups to follow short journeys locally and this is what we learned:

• Notice landmarks – specific shops, memorials, anything eye catching
• Take photos so you can create a visual route
• Map the route and print it out
• Your young person might like to mark off their progress along the route
• Perhaps use a more memorable route even if not the quickest
• Or a simpler route, again even if not the quickest
• Mark alternative routes
• Some crossings can be complex – where’s the crossing; is there a simpler place to cross
• Avoiding crossing on the red man – even when everyone else does
• Use marked crossings whenever possible
• Is one side of the road easier to navigate than the other
• Be aware of distractions – what other people are doing, the shops
• Travelling at quieter times
• Have an ‘emergency’ card with contact details – but no names
• Or a ‘help’ card – and keep both easily to hand
• Practice disruption – you can do this when you do a journey with your young person – pretend a road is closed or you’re at the wrong bus stop
• Let the crowd go first – eg if you’re getting on or off a busy train let most people go first

Distractions

Some of our young people may need to use ear defenders or distract themselves to manage anxiety be and able to complete their journey.  However, this can lead to problems in itself so it may be helpful to talk about when, where and how to use distractions so as not to put themselves at risk.

For example, if your young person uses ear defenders it immediately marks them out but noise reducing ear buds are less obvious.  However, being unaware of sound around you while travelling can be risky – you may not see a car but you would probably hear it.

Getting lost in tik tok may help reduce anxiety but will it also mean you miss your stop?

It can help to talk about these with your young person and work out ways to reduce their use of things that might distract or mark them out as more vulnerable.

Progressing

• Adapt your approach to your young person and their specific needs
• Start with one specific route
• Build confidence – 50% of the success of travel training is building confidence
• Small steps – and take your time
• Move the goalposts – eg if a PA (or friend) always comes to the house, maybe they could meet at the end of the road?
• The final step should not feel ‘too much’

The following is a pretty comprehensive list of the things you might want to think about and discuss with your young person before they start travelling independently.

Time of day:  travelling in the dark / rush hour

Weather:  bright and sunny / grey and wet / low light – poor visability

Complexity of the route:  changes / connections

Amount of walking/wheeling:  length of journey / uphill

Travel passes:  limitations, eg peak time travel

Distractions:  shops / noise / bright lights / is your young person easily distracted?

Interacting with other people:  at the bus station / school run time / strangers

Traffic:  volume at busy times

Crossings:  are there safe crossing points / what are the alternatives

Obstructions:  road works / condition of pavements

Landmarks:  any that might help with when to get off the bus / tell someone where you are

Length of journey:  is it truly manageable / fall asleep or lose concentration

Type of journey:  several buses at the same stop – could this be a problem

Frequency:  how often does the bus come / reliable service / cancellations

Family support:  who can help if needed

Remembering:  the route / money / bus pass

Attitude/motivation:  is your young person interested / will they focus

Clothing:  can they dress for the weather / wrong clothing can attract unwanted attention

Personal property:  do they lose things

Emergency procedures:  can they make decisions under pressure / who should they contact / could they have an emergency card? / who can they approach

Money:  recognising values / having some money with them

Timekeeping:  could lead to missing buses / trains

Vulnerability:  unaware of social dangers / will not ask for help

Physical and sensory:  eyesight / hearing / noise or business sensitivity

Medical:  allergies / having medication on them / seizures / medical bracelet

Communication:  unclear speech / no english / will not ask for help / communication cards for when they are unable to communicate verbally?

Road safety:  awareness of traffic / cycles

Behaviour:  do they become angry / lash out if uncertain or uncomfortable

Mobile phone:  charged / mobile charger / programmed with emergency numbers

It’s all in the preparation!