A good experience relies on more than accessible infrastructure, rolling stock, systems and services, it also relies on positive interactions along the way.
- Staff training for frontline and other staff, drawing on lived experiences of disability.
- Employing people with disability and diverse backgrounds.
- Sharing stories and images or running campaigns that demonstrate equitable access for people with disability accessing transport and planning services.
Co-design, consultation and engagement
Action: Support the Accessible Transport Advisory Committee to amplify the lived experience of people with disability by:
- Facilitating early engagement across a range of projects,
- Supporting identification of systemic issues, and
- Exploring opportunities to advise on transport components of broader planning strategies.
Outcome: The Accessible Transport and Advisory Committee is sought out by project teams to provide expertise throughout the project lifecycle.
Measure: Earlier and increased consultation with people with disability.
Timeframe: Ongoing.
Action: Continue the Chief Accessibility Advocate role for a further three years. Consider opportunities to provide advice on the intersection of accessibility with planning and precinct development, in addition to transport matters.
Outcome: Uplift departmental capability to embed accessibility across all work, and value the expertise and lived experience of people with disability.
Measure: Earlier and increased consideration of accessibility requirements across departmental work programs.
Timeframe: Year 1, Ongoing.
Action: Bring together existing information and processes for user testing and universal design to develop best practice guidance on co-design.
Outcome: A consistent and meaningful approach to engaging with people with disability across departmental projects is developed.
Measure: Earlier and increased consultation with people with disability.
Timeframe: Year 2.
Action: Co-design guidance material with people with disability that sets out DTP’s approach to the disability standards, including:
- Establishing a position on how to apply the disability standards where current practice may result in inconsistencies.
- Developing a framework for stakeholder engagement.
- Ensuring user focused outcomes, which may exceed disability standard requirements.
Outcome: Uplift major transport infrastructure project capability to deliver optimal accessible outcomes for people with disability.
Measure: Guidance materials with specific requirements on engaging with disability and accessibility auditors are developed and implemented.
Timeframe: Year 1.
Action: Apply a Human-Centered Design approach to understand the needs of users with accessibility requirements to design the new public transport ticketing system.
Outcome: The design of the new system takes user needs into account to ensure that the solution requirements are aligned with the department’s user experience objectives.
Measure: User research demonstrates that the ticketing system meets the needs of all people.
Timeframe: Ongoing.
Action: Conduct analysis of the customer experience and key pain points throughout journeys for users with accessibility needs.
Outcome: Drive improvements to the experience for users with accessibility needs.
Measure: Analysis completed with findings leveraged to drive improvements to the customer experience.
Timeframe: Ongoing.
Action: Deliver inclusive and accessible communications materials and engagement activities for Plan for Victoria consultation.
Outcome: All Victorians have an opportunity to contribute to Plan for Victoria.
Measure: Communication materials are provided in accessible formats. All engagement activities held in accessible venues.
Timeframe: Year 1.
Action: Support transport entities to increase their capacity to engage in co-design with people with disability to advise on whole of journey accessibility throughout project design and delivery.
Outcome: Accessibility is embedded from the start when designing and delivering major transport infrastructure projects.
Measure: Increased consultation with people with disability.
Timeframe: Ongoing.
Employment
Action: Increased employment of people with disability through requirements embedded in major public transport operator franchise agreements.
Outcome: Increased employment of people with disability across major public transport operators.
Measure: Proportion of employees with disability.
Timeframe: Ongoing.
Action: Advise department business areas during the procurement planning process on how to apply the Social Procurement Framework objective ‘Opportunities for Victorians with disability’.
Outcome: DTP procurement outcomes provide opportunities for people with disability by purchasing from:
- Social enterprises and/or disability enterprises, and/or
- Suppliers that employ people with disability.
Measure: Department business areas are aware of the social procurement objective to provide opportunities for Victorians with disability.
Timeframe: Ongoing.
Disability confidence
Action: Support and facilitate the delivery of the Travelling in the Shoes of Others program to promote awareness and understanding of public transport accessibility for departmental staff.
Outcome: Increased staff understanding of network barriers and links to accessibility in all roles.
Measure: Number of staff who have completed the program. Feedback on impact of program.
Timeframe: Ongoing.
Action: Support public transport operators to deliver the Try Before You Ride program to help people feel more confident when using the public transport system.
Outcome: Increased confidence for members of the public to use the public transport network.
Measure: Number of attendees at the program. Feedback on impact of the program.
Timeframe: Ongoing.
Action: Digital accessibility training is provided to all staff working on customer facing digital platforms.
Outcome: Project team members are aware of the accessibility requirements to be included in scope for customer facing digital platforms and the required testing for assurance.
Measure: All project managers are trained in accessibility testing requirements.
Timeframe: Year 1.
Action: With input from people with disability, review the Law and Procedure Reference Notes and consider how interactions between Authorised Officers and people with disability are accommodated to improve the user experience.
Outcome: Authorised officers are confident to positively and proactively engage with people with disability travelling on the public transport network.
Measure: Content in the Law and Procedure Reference Notes relating to Authorised Officer interactions with people with disability is updated, with input from people with disability.
Timeframe: Year 2.
Updated