Great Western Coffee Shop

Hello,

My name is Miriam Ricci and I am a researcher at UWE Bristol. I am doing a research project on accessible walks from local rail stations, funded by Great Western Rail and in collaboration with the Severnside Community Rail Partnership and the Bristol Physical Access Chain.

The research is about working with people with disabilities and/or mobility constraints to evaluate accessible walks from three local rail stations (Yatton, Severn Beach and Bradford-on-Avon) and the return train journeys to these destinations. The aim is to gather your feedback on the train journey and the facilities at the station and on board, and on the experience of the walk.
If you have a particular condition (because of age, health etc.) that somehow restricts your mobility, I would like to hear from you. The walks have been audited and risk-assessed by a walking guide and two wheelchair users, members of the Bristol Physical Access Chain and Disabled Ramblers.

Taking part in this project will involve one of the following activities, or both, depending on your availability and willingness to take part.

Activity 1

You and your carer (or family member or a friend) will be invited to take part in at least one guided walk from one of these three stations, with a small group of people:
   . Yatton, on Sunday 3rd November
   . Severn Beach, on Saturday 9th November
   . Bradford-on-Avon, on Tuesday 12th November You will travel with the
group from Bristol Temple Meads. Train times will be confirmed asap, but we expect to leave between 10-11am and come back between 2-4pm. This includes stops at a café during the walk and lunch break. Train fares, refreshments and lunch will be provided by the project (at no cost to you).
As part of my research, I will ask you (and your carer) to provide some feedback on your experience, during and after the walks, for example by completing a short questionnaire or answering some questions verbally, depending on your needs and preferences.
After the walk, I will also invite you (and your carer) to tell me more about your experience in a longer interview (about one hour), which can take place at a time and place of your choice. If you agree to do this, I will give you a £10 shopping voucher to thank you for your time.

Activity 2

You and your carer (or family member or a friend) will be invited to take part in a ticket booking test with a small group of people, which will take place at Temple Meads Station on Monday 21st October, 11am to 2pm (includes lunch break). This activity involves booking a return train journey to a local station (e.g. Bath Spa) using one of the following methods (at ticket office, from the machines, online, using an app) and booking Passenger Assist for this journey. You will need to decide when and where to travel prior to the booking test. The ticket will be paid for by the project. In return, I will ask you to complete a survey about the train journey experience, including the experience with Passenger Assist. All the technologies needed for this activity will be provided, as well as refreshments and lunch.
All the information you provide in both activities, including your personal details, will be kept confidential. Only your anonymised feedback may be used in the project report and other outputs from this research study.
If you want to take part in the above activities (one or both), please let me know as soon as possible, preferably by email. My contact details are below. I will be delighted to answer any questions you may have.

Please note: because each activity group needs to be balanced in terms of age, gender and types of mobility constraints, I may need to make a selection among those who apply to take part to meet this research requirement.

Many thanks.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Miriam

Dr Miriam Ricci    (Follow me on Twitter @RicciMiriam)
Senior Research Fellow  Centre for Transport & Society Department of
Geography and Environmental Management - Faculty of Environment &
Technology University of the West of England - Frenchay Campus -
BRISTOL BS16 1QY Office location: Room 3Q83
Tel: 00 44 (0)117 32 83798
E-mail: miriam.ricci@uwe.ac.uk