Public transport is for everyone

From 2021, increased freedom of movement for the disabled will be one of Ruter’s most important strategic priorities.

In 2020, Bernt Reitan Jenssen, CEO of Ruter, met a young man who left a great impression on him. In a debate on Norwegian television, Amir Hashani stated that as a wheelchair user he often had to give up on travelling by bus – because the bus ramp had got stuck or because the ramp key was missing.

The meeting made Ruter look at things from a new perspective. Hashani was clear that the problems he faced were bigger than the fact that he, a wheelchair user, was not able to get from A to B. It was the issue that exclusion from public transport also in practice means exclusion from participating in society.

For Ruter, this issue is also about our contribution to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal no. 10: Reduced Inequalities. We know that equal access to transport helps to even out differences in society. This means that everyone should be able to travel to work and school, meet friends and participate in leisure activities on an equal footing.

Ruter has always ensured that as many people as possible could get to where they needed to go – in an efficient and environmentally friendly way. From that point of view, we have succeeded. But we are now expanding our remit: we need to create services that work for everyone, irrespective of ability level, gender, age, ethnicity, religion or budget.

We still have a long way to go and, rather than patch up the system, we need to take a more holistic approach to ensure that fewer people feel excluded.

Fundamental change

A more comprehensive remit requires a new and broader approach: the most important changes are always psychological. We need to work on our culture, awareness and internal processes – as well as technology and physical solutions.

• Incorporating ‘everyone’ into everything we do has to be a matter of course – both at Ruter and in the rest of the public transport system.
• We have to view diversity as a strength and a fantastic starting point for innovation.
• We have to become even better at taking advice from those who feel excluded.
• We have to adjust our own work processes and bring this insight into all our development projects – from the outset.

In 2020, Ruter launched a major, internal project, in collaboration with the Norwegian Association of the Disabled, called Sustainable Freedom of Movement for All.

Good for everyone

Disabled people make up a large group – about 18% of the population according to Bufdir. They often face challenges when travelling by public transport which is why Ruter in 2021 made it a priority to ensure increased freedom of movement for the disabled in particular.

But we believe that what is needed for the disabled can be applied to many more customers at different times of their lives.

For example, a wheelchair user and a customer with a pram face the same obstacles, while the elderly experience many of the same challenges as visually impaired people.

Ultimately, it is not a matter of finding special solutions for the few, but solutions that work for everyone – throughout life.

Insight into obstacles

The Sustainable Freedom of Movement for All project started with extensive collection of data in 2020 and 2021 to identify the obstacles disabled people encounter on Ruter’s public transport services.

We conducted in-depth interviews with interest groups and people with a range of disabilities.

We also interviewed drivers, operations managers and other applicable staff with our operators and partners to find out what changes we needed to make in order to give disabled people an enhanced travel experience.

Main findings

Independence: The disabled want to be able to travel independently, without having to depend on others.

Safety: Many experience stress and have to expend a great deal of energy before and during travel because they do not get the information they need in order to travel safely.

Participation: Being prevented from taking public transport excludes many from important social activity such as learning and participating in society.

Spontaneity: People want to be able to travel where they want, when they want – irrespective of disability.

Changes start at the top

Throughout 2021, we worked on raising awareness internally at Ruter across our channels.

Managers and middle managers participated in workshops – because we believe that change starts at the top. These managers travelled with ‘ability mentors’ from the Norwegian Association of the Disabled and were challenged to travel alone by bus in a wheelchair.

In 2022, various departments at Ruter will also be invited to take part in workshops. We will also work to increase the awareness of our operators and partners across the public transport system. We want to be better equipped to address the diversity of all Ruter customers.

The Norwegian Association of the Disabled has been a strong partner. They have challenged us, made us more aware of the wide-ranging consequences of exclusion and contributed expertise on how to build awareness that results in tangible change.

Strategic aims

From 2021, increased freedom of movement for the disabled will be one of Ruter’s most important strategic goals.

Since November 2021, questions related to perceived freedom of movement for the disabled have been included in Ruter’s regular customer survey.

The goal for 2022 is to achieve actual improvement in perceived freedom of movement.

What is happening?