With me being Visually Impaired i’ve never been that confident travelling by Train, especially when it comes to Leeds Station, as with it’s humongous size, it kind of overwhelms me and makes me feel a little bit anxious as to whether or not i’m actually going to find the right Platform or if i’m going to miss my Train all together. That’s why when I had heard that National Rail had released Passenger Assistance to help Disabled people easily book Passenger Assistance so that they can have a smoother Train Journey, I obviously had to give it a go. Well i’ve been using it for a little while now, and I thought that I would tell you what I thought of it.

Here’s what Passenger Assistance say about themselves.

We’ve created an App that takes the time and fuss out of requesting assistance when you want to travel.
In just a few clicks you can request to book assistance so that every Rail journey that you take is as stress-free as possible. Our trusted technology means you can let Station Staff know your exact Accessibility Needs. Independence and flexibility has never been easier!

How it works.

1. Download the Passenger Assistance App.
Simply download the App on to your Smartphone to begin your fuss-free travel experience. Our App has been designed in consultation with those who have accessibility needs and is suitable for Screen Readers. The App is available on both iOS and Android Smartphones.
2. Set up your Profile.
Whether you’re a Wheelchair user, have an Assistance Dog or live with a Hidden Disability, simply fill in your Profile and provide as much information as you’d like, you’re in control of your Profile. Whatever your Accessibility Needs, there’s a space for it all to be listed here.
3. Tell us about your journey.
Let us know where you’ll be travelling to and from, on what day and at which time, so that Station Staff have all the details they need to make your journey run smoothly.
4. Assistance sorted.
Send your request to book assistance on the App and this will be sent directly to the Train Operator who will arrange assistance for you. We will tell you when you’re booking is confirmed. Then all you have to do is book your Ticket, and you’re on your way.

It’s set up.

I really liked how easy this was to set up, as once I had downloaded it to my iPhone and had given it permission to send me notifications, it loaded a screen where I could choose what kind of colour scheme I wanted the App to have, including the Default colour, High Contrast, Ocean, or Cream before taking me through a little tutorial about how the App worked. Then once it had finished it’s little tutorial, it then loaded a login screen where I could either Login or Create A New Account. Then once I had given it my Email Address, had chosen a Password and had agreed to it’s Terms & Conditions, it then loaded another screen where I could create my Profile, including uploading a Profile Picture, my Name, my Phone Number so that the Train Staff could find me, and options to describe my Accessibility Needs such as whether I had a Guide Dog, used a Wheelchair or Mobility Scooter, had a Hearing Impairment, or if I had some kind of Hidden Disability like Autism or Anxiety. Then once I had finished entering all of my Details and had tapped Save, it was all set up.

I also really liked that it worked extremely well with Voiceover, as it didn’t stall or throw me out of the App whilst I was setting it up.

What it did when I used it.

I absolutely loved what this did when I used it, as once I had finished setting it up, it loaded a Train Journey Search Page where I could input which Train Station I would be departing from and would be arriving at, whether I would like to avoid certain Train Stations on my journey, whether I wanted to book assistance for my outbound journey, my return journey or both journeys, what time my Train would be leaving and arriving at each Station, how many passengers would be travelling, and even if I had a connecting journey and what time it would be departing from my chosen Station.

I also really liked that once I had tapped the Find Trains button, that it loaded a massive list of all the Train Journeys that would be happening between the times that I had chosen, and that once I had chosen my journey that it also loaded a little Booking Screen telling me all about the Train Journey that I was booking, including a place to let the Train Staff know what Seats I had booked and a box to tell them any other additional Accessibility Needs that I had.

Then once I had tapped on Save, it loaded a little thanks for booking message before also sending me a Confirmation Email detailing all of my journeys Details.

Unfortunately though, the only thing that kind of let it down was that you need to make sure that your Phone is set to 24 hours time, as otherwise it won’t show you any Trains that are leaving after 12PM and also won’t load any other Trains when you tap on the Show More Journeys button.

What happened throughout my Journey.

I booked a Journey for both me and Jamie from Leeds to Liverpool Lime Street leaving on Tuesday the 6th July at 11:15am and returning on Tuesday the 6th July at 5:54pm, and unfortunately both of my journeys were like night and day.

What happened at Leeds Station.

Once we had arrived at Leeds Station, we went down a set of Escalators and found one of the Customer Information Kiosks which had unfortunately been closed due to COVID-19, so decided to just head to the Barriers and ask one of the Train Staff there instead. Then once we had arrived at the Barriers and had told the really friendly woman who was supervising that we had booked Assistance, she went off for a moment and returned with a really nice gentleman who said that he would radio the Staff Member who deals with Passenger Assistance and tell them that we had arrived. He also said that if we would like to wait over by the side of the Barriers, that someone would be over to meet us in a moment.

Luckily, we had arrived a good hour before our journey was due to depart, so we had plenty of time for them to meet us at the Barriers. Unfortunately though, after 45 minutes of us waiting and having several other passengers ask if we were okay or if we needed anything, they still didn’t arrive to meet us, so as our Train was due to depart in ten minutes we decided to just abandon the entire thing and head to our Platform instead. Then three minutes before our Train was due to arrive, the member of Staff who deals with Passenger Assistance finally arrived, asked me if I was Mr Sowden and then disappeared again. Then once our Train had arrived and we had gotten on, he proceeded to tell us our Seat Numbers and that they were down there, which is actually one of the most annoying things that you can say to a Blind person, before walking off again and leaving us to our journey.  .

What happened at Liverpool Lime Street Station.

Once we had entered the very bright Train Station and had found one of the Customer Information Kiosks, we were very kindly greeted by a really friendly gentleman who said hi and asked us if we were ok. We said hi back, that yes we were and that we had booked Passenger Assistance,, and after about thirty seconds of us all chatting, he called over another really friendly woman and asked her if she looked after Passenger Assistance. She said yes, introduced herself and then guided us both to a Seating Area just next to the Customer Information Kiosk and said that she would be back to collect us once the Train had arrived. Then after about ten minutes of us both chatting and waiting, the really friendly woman returned and said that she would escort us to our Train. Then after we had all navigated through the Barriers, she told us both which way to go, including when to turn left and right before we arrived at our Train, and once we had gotten on she told us what number our Seats were, personally showed us to our Seats and said that she would inform Leeds Station that we were arriving. She then said goodbye, and that she hoped that we had a nice journey.

My overall thoughts.

Overall I would have to rate Passenger Assistance an eight out of ten. I absolutely loved how easy it was to set up, and what it did when I used it, including that I could choose which stations to avoid, that I could choose which Seats I had booked and that I could tell them any other Accessibility Needs that I had, but I did find it a bit strange that it only worked properly when I had my Phone set to 24 hours time.
If you would like to check out Passenger Assistance for yourselves, then you can find it online here.
Have you checked out Passenger Assistance yet? What did you think of it? What’s some of your good and bad experiences when it comes to using Passenger Assistance? Please let me know down below.

This Post may contain Affiliate Links, but Posts are not Affiliate driven.
Luke x

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