“BEING able to use the bus on my own makes me happier and more confident,” says Mandy Rigby, a 44-year-old with learning difficulties from Bury. “Because I can go into town alone, I can volunteer for Oxfam and People First. This is great because I like being around people.”

Rigby is one of about 30 local people to have received travel training from Bury People First, a self-advocacy charity for adults with learning difficulties. The organisation, which is affiliated to Mencap, first identified the need for such a scheme in 2006. It emerged from members and partners that a lack of access to transport was a barrier to independent living and being more self-sufficient. The individual, with the trainer, identifies public transport routes for journeys they wish to make and they make the trip together regularly. “Training is [individually] tailored to needs,” says Chris Sullivan, the organisation’s travel training manager. “If they want to be able to go to college every Wednesday, that’s when we travel with them. And we keep going with them until they’re completely comfortable with the journey.”

The training period lasts about three months, or longer if necessary, he says. The trainer supports the individual with general issues such as road safety and with the particular challenges of a specific journey. For Rigby, these included learning to cope with noisy schoolchildren. For others, this might involve buying tickets or getting travel information. Sullivan regards the scheme as a gateway to independence. “It’s about helping them to gain the confidence that will allow them to access employment, further education, health facilities, sports centres.” The scheme runs on an annual budget of about £30,000, provided mostly by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, with contributions from Bury Metro Mencap and Greater Manchester Accessible Transport Limited.

Sullivan highlights Rigby’s success in securing voluntary work and the case of one man who was in danger of losing touch with his relatives. “His family lived in another area and without the training he could have become isolated.” Once people have received training they are more likely to develop independent travel skills, he adds. “We start them off and they sometimes go on to help themselves, for example by phoning transport information lines about other services. It’s very rewarding, for us and them.”

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