The term travel training is used to refer to any kind of scheme or programmer or activity of this nature, and can take many different forms. There is usually a practical hands-on element involving accompanied journeys, as well as some classroom based tuition. The training is predominantly aimed at people who are less able or less inclined to travel independently. This includes (but is not limited to) people with reduced mobility, learning difficulties, young inexperienced travelers, those who are older and have lost confidence or who find themselves without a car for the first time in years, and people who do not speak English.
Travel training is currently delivered and supported by a variety of organizations, often in partnership, and these include local authority social services or transport departments, passenger transport executives, voluntary organizations, schools/colleges, and employment agencies.
Why do travel training?
Travel training has been proven to be beneficial in enabling greater access to transport, education and employment opportunities for a range of people. However, travel training goes far beyond simply facilitating an individual to make a trip from A to B. The outcomes are wide ranging and transcend many key policy areas, including:
• Accessibility;
• Transport & Road Safety;
• Education; • Health;
• Employment; and
• Social Services.
By improving access to jobs, education, services and recreational facilities, travel training supports the objectives of promoting equality of opportunity and independence. Travel training also enables people to travel in a more sustainable way (i.e. by public transport, on foot or by bicycle).
What are the benefits of travel training?
The benefits of travel training go far beyond the remit of transportation, as the positive impacts are far reaching and lifelong. The beneficiaries of travel training include:
• Learners;
• Parents and carers;
• Trainers;
• Statutory agencies;
• Schools and colleges; and
• The wider community.
The benefits to learners include:
- Increased independence and confidence, and improved self-esteem;
- Increased opportunity to participate in social and leisure activities, and generally broadened horizons;
- Improvement to general health and well-being, improved quality of life;
- Reduced likelihood of developing behavioral problems;
- Enhanced educational performance;
- Potential for recipients to gain a qualification and or recognition on completion of the training;
- Increased opportunity to access healthcare services; and
- Increased opportunity and likelihood of entering employment or education.
The main benefit to parents and careers is a reduction in care responsibilities, enabling greater participation in employment, education and leisure activities. The benefits to trainers include:
• Opportunity to learn a skill and potentially gain a qualification;
• Possibility for people with physical disabilities or learning difficulties to gain training and employment; and
• A chance to engage with the community.
The benefits to schools/colleges include:
• More engaged, motivated students who require less support; and
• Learning opportunities associated with increased independence which would not otherwise present themselves, such as learning about attendance and punctuality, and attending excursions.
Who are the target individuals or groups?
The principal beneficiaries of travel training are as follows:
• People with learning difficulties of all ages, requiring individualized training appropriate to their situation for specific journeys or the whole network;
• People with disabilities, ranging from physical or cognitive disabilities to mental impairments, reduced sensorial abilities, again people of all ages;
• Children and young adults with Special Educational Needs (SEN);
• Children (often at/or approaching transitional stages); •
People who do not know how to and/or do not feel safe or confident using public transport;
• Older people who find themselves without the use of the car for the first time in many years, either through their own deteriorating health or the death of a spouse/partner that drove them;
• Ethnic minority groups, particularly when English is not the first language;
• Unemployed people who might not, for a number of reasons, be able to access and/or remain in employment; and
• People who have started to use specialist transport services such as dial-a-ride.
Travel training is also often delivered at key transitional milestones where people may have to make new journeys, for example, assisting young people moving from primary to secondary school or from secondary school or college into employment. Travel training is often used to assist the rehabilitation of people who may be experiencing severe illness or have suffered from an accident or deterioration in cognitive skills.
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