Distributive Justice: Disability in Public Transport in the UK
Distributive Justice: Disability in Public Transport in the UK
Summary: Disability in Public Transport
Public transport is commonly used by several citizens trying to get from one place to another, but it can often be challenging for disabled people to use public transport, who may find inaccessible structures, inadequately trained transport staff or insufficient information to locate the accessible transportation methods for their preferred routes. While there are different organisations which provide effective accessible transport, such as the dial-a-ride service, these are more expensive than other public transport methods inaccessible for some disabilities (Adur & Worthing Councils, 2024).
Defining Distributive Justice
Distributive Justice relates to the equitable distribution of benefits and burdens across members of society, considering both extrinsic and intrinsic values. While extrinsic values may be easier to determine, the intrinsic value of a benefit or burden can vary according to each individual perspective. This means that the definition of distributive justice may also vary according to each person’s principles and ideals (Lamont and Favor, 2017).
Distributive Justice in Disability in Public Transport
Analysing the availability of accessible transport through the scope of distributive justice highlights the inequality in the availability of accessible transport. Firstly, the availability of accessible transport in the UK is less than ‘regular’ or inaccessible transport. In Leeds, the Access Bus provides a door-to-door service from 9am to 5pm (Leeds Directory, no date), while the regular bus service provides transport services to its bus stops from 5am to 11pm (Metro, 2024), being available for 10 hours more than the accessible counterpart. This means that accessible transport is over 55% less available than transport not adapted for people with disabilities. This represents a distributive injustice between the disabled community and the non-disabled community in the Leeds area, suggesting that this might be the case for the UK. This supports that non-disabled people get more of the benefits, while people with disabilities receive less benefits, indicating distributive injustice. Moreover, in all public transport in the UK, the staff is required to provide “reasonable assistance to disabled people, for example by helping them get on and off the bus or coach” (UK Government, no date); however, several issues have been reported with problems for disabled people, such as negligence to help. These problems were highlighted by the paralympic team’s trip to the Paris Paralympic Games, with several members indicating having “humiliating incidents” or even athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson having to crawl off a train (Hill, 2024). This raises concerns about the effectiveness in the enforcement and compliance of these laws, suggesting that the actual compliance and adherence to providing “reasonable assistance” is low. This suggests that the available help from transport staff for people with disabilities may be low for the UK, indicating a distributive injustice in the benefits of transport.
Additionally, the burdens of transport have also a bigger impact on the disabled community, represented by their higher transport prices. While there are organisations that provide accessible transport such as dial-a-ride or the Access Bus, the prices for these accessible services can be higher than those for inaccessible public transport. In the case of the Dial-a-ride service, it usually requires a heftier payment as the prices depend on the providers themselves (Dial-a-ride, no date). This suggests a distributive injustice in the distribution of the burden of transport, as people with disabilities incur higher costs.
References
Adur & Worthing Councils. 2024. Accessible and Community Transport. [Online]. [Accessed 29 October 2024]. Available from: https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/streets-and-travel/accessible-transport/#:~:text=Dial%2Da%2DRide,assist%20those%20travelling%20in%20wheelchairs.
Dial-a-Ride. No date. Dial-a-Ride UK. [Online]. [Accessed 29 October 2024]. Available from: https://www.dial-a-ride.uk/
DPO Forum. 2023. The Disabled People Manifesto. DisabledPeoplesManifesto.com.
Hill, A. 2024. Improving Disabled Access to UK’s Public Transport ‘Almost Impossible’ . The Guardian. [Online]. 31 August. [Accessed 29 October 2024] Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/aug/31/improving-disabled-access-to-uk-public-transport-almost-impossible#:~:text=But%20research%20bears%20out%20Grey,from%20staff%20and%20other%20passengers.
Lamont, J. and Favor, C. 2017. Distributive Justice E. N. Zalta, ed. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Leeds Directory. No date. Access Bus (Metro). [Online]. [Accessed 29 October 2024]. Available from: https://www.leedsdirectory.org/directory/access-bus-metro
Metro. 2024. Metro. [Online]. [Accessed 29 October 2024]. Available from: https://www.wymetro.com/buses/bus-timetables/