National Highways is responsible for operating and maintaining the strategic road network, 4,500 miles of motorways and A-roads across England. This network enables our customers to travel independently and relatively barrier-free as drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and cyclists. However, for too many disabled people this isn’t the case, which means they take 38% fewer journeys than their non-disabled counterparts, missing out on the benefits those journeys bring. This is known as the transport accessibility gap.
From talking to disabled customers, we know many of the barriers they face are when planning their journeys, refuelling and seeking rest, or traveling through roadworks or diversions.
We are working to make it easier for people to walk, cycle and use public transport across our network. We can only achieve accessible and inclusive roads for our disabled customers by us all committing to that goal and working together to achieve it. We believe it is our responsibility to make the benefits of travel across the strategic road network in England available equally to everyone.
Our partnership with Purple Tuesday will help us to rise to the challenge of what the future holds, help us connect with more customers to reduce the transport accessibility gap and help ensure our roads will be accessible and inclusive for all.