Hansard

I welcome this opportunity to raise awareness of the thistle travel card scheme. Before I do so, I welcome to Parliament representatives from Enable Scotland, which led the development of the card. Equally, I welcome Joan Mulroy from the Dumbarton advocacy group, members of which—members who have learning disabilities—first raised the issue with me at constituency level. Last, but by no means least, I welcome John Feehan, who is a member of Enable's advisory committee. As well as having shaped the thistle travel card scheme, he continues to play a valuable role on the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland.

Deputy Presiding Officer, I also acknowledge your keen interest in the issue. I remind members that Trish Godman is a member of the cross-party group on learning disability. Unusually, she will be silent on the issue tonight because she is presiding over the meeting, but on other occasions she is vocal in her support of people who have learning disabilities. That is equally true of many colleagues who could not stay for the debate, but who have asked me to mention their commitment and said that they will be happy to raise awareness of the scheme locally. Those members include Margaret Jamieson, Cathie Craigie, Janis Hughes, Susan Deacon, Johann Lamont and many more.

I will give some background information on how the thistle travel card scheme came about, how it has progressed and what I want the Executive to do next. The beauty of the thistle travel card lies in its simplicity. It is free, it is easy to use and it is designed to help people who might face difficulties in using public transport. It tells the bus driver, the ticket collector and other transport staff that the card-holder might need just a little bit of extra help, perhaps because they have a disability or an illness or perhaps just because of age, which will affect us all. The things that people most often need help with are knowing which bus to get on and where to get off, counting out the right fare, understanding timetables and understanding travel announcements—which can be a challenge to us all.

The thistle travel card scheme started in 1997, when Enable's advisory committee established that people who have learning disabilities were having problems accessing public transport without the assistance of a friend or carer. The committee launched a pilot transport project to examine the problem and come up with imaginative solutions. In the first phase of the project, a survey was carried out among people who have learning disabilities throughout Scotland. The overwhelming evidence was that the problems relate mainly to communication.

The second phase involved the trial of a system to alert transport operators to individuals' needs and to provide information on how to deal with those needs. Support was secured from two of the major bus companies in Scotland, which operated a pilot scheme. The scheme was operated by FirstBus in West Lothian and by Stagecoach Western in Ayr and Kilmarnock. Not surprisingly, they found that the scheme had the potential to make a considerable impact on the confidence and freedom of a large number of people. The scheme gained the support of the bus drivers and staff at FirstBus and Stagecoach, who welcomed the initiative because it helped them to offer an enhanced customer service. The scheme got the thumbs-up all round.

It was recognised that the thistle travel card had potential not only for people who have learning disabilities but for others. A number of organisations thought likewise—among others the Carers National Association, Down's Syndrome Scotland and Capability Scotland. I am pleased to say that the idea was supported by the Executive and the thistle travel card scheme was launched in September 2002 by the then Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning, Lewis Macdonald. Some 200,000 cards were distributed throughout Scotland and 8,000 copies of the staff guidelines were supplied to 42 transport providers.

In March 2004, a reprint of 80,000 cards and thistle logo stickers was needed to help to promote the scheme. Local authorities have helped to distribute the card widely. It has been targeted at health centres, day centres, sheltered employment projects and travel offices. Information and guidance packs were issued to all transport staff who are responsible for customer care and who are in daily contact with the public so that they would know what difficulties might arise and about the easy ways in which those difficulties can be overcome. The scheme is practical and low maintenance and—surprise, surprise—it works. What more can we ask for? I will tell the minister what I would like the Executive to do.

First, I would like the Executive to work with, and actively to encourage, transport providers to provide training to their staff on the thistle travel card. We know that there are problems relating to transport staff not recognising the card. Information was originally sent to train companies, but it has never really been taken up by them, so the focus has been mainly on bus services. The scheme's success relies heavily on the support of transport providers, some of which have been supportive and have told us that they have embraced the scheme, but there are still frequent reports of bus drivers' not knowing what the card is when a person shows one to them. That is a general problem rather than a problem with any particular bus company. We acknowledge that transport providers face complex issues in training their staff, but I know that Enable and other organisations would be willing to work alongside them to address the problem. The issue is partly a training and marketing issue, but resources—which would have to come from the Executive—are needed.

Secondly, the Executive must ensure that the scheme is extended and is truly comprehensive. At the very least, trains must be covered but, ideally, taxis should also be covered.

Thirdly, we must evaluate the scheme. There was a proposal to evaluate it in 2002 at a minor cost of £19,000, but no funding has been secured for that. Evaluation would help us to identify the barriers that transport providers face in implementing the scheme and how we can work to overcome them. It would also help us to find out exactly how people are using the card and to find out about the help that they need in order that they can use public transport. The minister believes in evidence-based policy making; I therefore wonder whether the Executive would agree to fund such an evaluation.

Finally, if the scheme works—as it clearly does—will the Executive raise awareness of it and help to promote it much more widely?

The thistle travel card has undoubtedly been successful among transport users, who have said that they feel more confident about making independent journeys. Even if people do not use the card, knowing that they can use it if they need to gives them confidence. The scheme's simplicity—which requires merely that the holder show the card—has been popular. The card is easy to use and to carry. The widening of the scheme to include a variety of groups means that it works for people with a wide range of needs—people with learning disabilities, elderly travellers, people with memory difficulties and people with physical disabilities.

Transport providers also like the scheme and some of them have included information about the travel card in their staff induction and disability awareness training. Thistle logo stickers are displayed on FirstBus vehicles—FirstBus likes the scheme's simplicity and its help in providing an improved service.

In conclusion, I urge the minister to support the thistle travel card, which will encourage greater use of public transport and give greater independence to a range of people for whom travel might occasionally prove to be a little difficult, and I hope that he will signal the Executive's commitment to maximising its potential.