Publications:
Review of DPTAC Guidance: Large Passenger Ships and Passenger Infrastructure (final report)

1. Introduction

1.1 Background

Large passenger ship travel is an important mode of public transport in the UK, providing a lifeline for many people living in island communities, and a significant number of journeys are made by large passenger ships each year. In 2002, approximately 29 million journeys were made by passengers on roll-on/roll-off ferry services on short sea routes (Dover to Calais being the most used) and a further 40 million journeys on domestic routes within the UK (DfT, 2003). It is likely some of these passengers will have a disability: it is estimated that there are approximately 11 million disabled adults and 770,000 disabled children in the UK (Rickards et al., 2004) and this number is likely to increase as the proportion of older people in the population rises.

1.1.1 Legislation

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 aims to eliminate discrimination against disabled people. Part 3 of the DDA gives disabled people a right of access to goods, facilities, services and premises. Under the Act it is illegal for a service provider to discriminate against disabled people by refusing them service; providing them with service on worse terms; or providing a lower standard of service. The duties on service providers under Part 3 of DDA 1995 have been introduced in three stages:

1. Since 1996 it has been unlawful for service providers to:

  • treat disabled people less favourably than other people for reasons related to their disability.

2. Since October 1999 service providers, have been required to take reasonable steps to:

  • change any practice, policy or procedure which makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to use a service; and
  • provide an auxiliary aid or service, which would enable disabled people to use a service.

3. Since 1 October 2004 service providers have been required by law to take reasonable steps:

  • to ensure that any physical feature that makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to use a port should either be removed, altered or a reasonable means of avoiding it be provided.

As Part 3 of the DDA is essentially a civil rights provision, until case law has been established it is not possible to say what will or will not be deemed "reasonable" by the Courts and, in any event, the obligations must be considered on a case by case basis. Factors such as the cost and practicability of an adjustment and the resources available to the service provider may all be taken into account in deciding what is reasonable.

Transport infrastructure, such as ports, railway stations and airports, are already subject to the above duties. This means that most transport providers have always been subject to Part 3 requirements in respect of certain services they provide, for example, booking, information and timetabling services.

1.1.2 Lifting the Part 3 Exemption

The 1995 Act included an exemption from Part 3 for 'any service so far as it consists of the use of any means of transport'. A later Act, the DDA 2005, has amended the DDA 1995 to make it clear that the exemption from Part 3 only applies in connection with the provision and use of vehicles, and includes a regulation-making power to enable the Secretary of State to lift the exemption, in whole or in part (and at different times), in respect of transport providers operating certain types of vehicle, including large passenger ships and cruise liners.

1.1.3 The need for research

In 2000, the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) issued guidance for port and large passenger ship operators entitled "The design of large passenger ships and passenger infrastructure: guidance on meeting the needs of disabled people". The DPTAC document supplements the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) guidelines on the design and operation of passenger ships, described in Marine Guidance Note 31 (referred to as the 'IMO guidance' in this report). The document was issued in September 1997 by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to naval architects and ship designers, owners, operators and builders. These guidelines cover the design and operation of ports and new passenger ships, but only provide basic advice. The DPTAC guidance is more extensive, and was produced to help designers and operators to interpret and implement the IMO guidance. The recommendations in IMO and DTPAC guidance are advisory.

In May 2004, a Joint Committee on the Disability Discrimination Bill published a review of the draft Bill, which recommended that, if research indicated that the voluntary approach to shipping services was not working satisfactorily, then the Government should consult on the desirability of the statutory approach (House of Commons and House of Lords Joint Committee, 2004).

To help advise the Government on whether the shipping industry is following voluntary guidance, DPTAC commissioned TRL Limited to review the effectiveness of the DPTAC guidance. The research was carried out jointly by Middlesex University, JMU Access Partnership and TRL Limited.

The results of the research will be used by Government to inform any future decision whether or not to bring maritime passenger services within the scope of the Part 3 duties of the DDA 1995.

1.2 Aims and objectives

The aim of the project was:

  • to review the effectiveness of the DPTAC guidance by examining the influence it has had on access for disabled people to ports and ferries and how inclusive design has been addressed in the commissioning of new vehicles and infrastructure.

The specific objectives of the research were:

  • To undertake an assessment within the UK of the effectiveness of the IMO and DPTAC guidance by reviewing improvements in the accessibility of ports, passenger ferries and large passenger ships since publication of guidance.
  • To identify and quantify how the guidance has influenced inclusive design of newly commissioned passenger ships and ferries and in refurbishment and investment in infrastructure.
  • To provide examples demonstrating the impact of applying the guidance to existing service provision, for example any change in the patronage, and in the commissioning of new services.
  • Where the guidance has been applied, to determine what publicity has been given to the promotion of accessible services.
  • To conduct an analysis of whether the shipping industry is complying with the voluntary guidance.

This report is in nine sections. The first section details the background to the study, the second the methodology. The findings, discussion and conclusions for each of the five research objectives are reported in sections 3 to 7. Section 8 describes the experience of the research team using the DPTAC guidance, and the final section summarises the recommendations.

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