Turn Up And Go - the fundamental right to travel

Turn Up And Go (TUAG) refers to disabled people's right to travel on the public transport system on the same terms as any other passenger - ie without having to book assistance in advance. In 2019, it was described by the Equality and Human Rights Commission as "the fundamental right to spontaneous travel."

According to the Equality Act 2010, public transport providers must have reliable policies to make 'reasonable adjustments' - such as ramp assistance - in advance of any request. Because ramp assistance is needed almost everywhere on the rail network, a member of staff must always be available to provide this. The only alternative is to require disabled people to pre-book their travel, or wait until a member of staff to travel from another location to provide assistance (known as 'mobile staffing'). In my opinion, neither of these can possibly be compliant with equality law and the 'reasonable adjustments' duty.

This campaign aims to:

1) fight for a fully staffed railway, in order to provide TUAG travel everywhere on the network.

2) oppose all rail industry moves towards mobile staffing, pre-booking and other replacements for TUAG. 

3) ensure that Britain's rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, improves its regulations to ensure full compliance with the Equality Act 2010 on every part of the railway.

I'm glad to be collaborating with other grassroots activists on ongoing campaigns and investigations to prevent the closure of ticket offices. This work - by hundreds of committed activists and campaigners - led to victory in 2023 when the government backed down from plans to close every railway ticket office in England.

I am also a signatory to the Association of British Commuter's campaign coalition letter against ticket office closures, which aims to expose the flaws in existing regulations (especially Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement) and warn the public how these can be used to destaff the railway by stealth.

As of November 2024, the campaign has just uncovered a shocking 74% compliance rate with ticket office opening hours at Southeastern plus a new project of ticket office cuts; proving again how Schedule 17 can be exploited to destaff ticket offices - this time without even a consultation. 

Our objective is to see that the government replaces this out-of-date and flawed system of regulation with consistent nationwide policies to ensure TUAG staffing, and full access to ticket retail everywhere on the network.

Whether you're campaigning, suing for damages or taking on a public law case, this website provides a selection of recommended resources:

- Association of British Commuters letters on railway destaffing: 1) "Disability activists demand urgent EHRC intervention" 2022 [link here]; and "Experts call for ORR and EHRC to intervene in ticket office closures" 2023 [link here].

- Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) "Rail Workforce Reform Report" 2022 - an extensive case study of South London rail services, where TUAG is being denied due to driver-only trains and unstaffed stations. [download here].

- Equality and Human Rights Commission (2019) on "the fundamental right to spontaneous travel", also warning that pre-booking through 'Passenger Assist' must not be promoted by train operators as an alternative to TUAG [download here].