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Transport - Local Offer

Travelling by train

View timetables from National Rail.

Passenger Assist

If you need help with your train journey, there are many ways to request it.

Passenger Assist allows you to request an assistance booking in advance. Any train company can organise assistance for your entire journey, even if you are travelling on multiple services.

Passenger Assist includes:

  • offering a helping hand to navigate the station
  • support when boarding the train
  • meeting you from your train and taking you to your next train or the exit
  • arranging a ramp on or off your train
  • assistance relating to a non-visible impairment
  • carrying your bag(s)
  • getting an Assistance Dog Under Seat card

To use Passenger Assist:

Further useful links:

Passenger Assistance does not need to be booked in advance, but it is advised that people do.

Travelling from Northampton and Long Buckby by train

Northampton and Long Buckby Railway Stations are managed by London Northwestern Railway (LNWR).

Travelling from Kings Sutton by train

Kings Sutton Railway Station is managed by Chiltern Railways and services are run by Chiltern and Great Western Railway (GWR).

Travelling from Market Harborough by train

East Midlands Railway (EMR) serve Market Harborough station.

Travelling by train with a mobility scooter

Powered mobility scooters are often unsuitable to be taken on board trains. For safety reasons you will only be allowed to bring an unfolded mobility scooter onto a train if you hold a scooter card. A scooter card can be applied for by contacting 08000 11 33 23.

Disabled Persons Railcard

The Disabled Persons Railcard saves you 1/3 off adult rail fares for travel on the National Rail network in Great Britain. If you're travelling with another adult, they will also get 1/3 off their rail fare. This means a friend, carer, or family member can save money too.

There are no time restrictions on the Disabled Persons Railcard, so you can use it to get a discount on tickets at any time of the day.

Travelling by bus

Find bus timetables for West Northamptonshire.

Disabled person's bus pass

A disabled person's bus pass allows you to travel for free on local buses anywhere in England. It can be used between 9:30am and 11pm on weekdays. It can be used all day at weekends and on bank holidays.

Find out more about the disabled person's bus pass.

Stagecoach Midlands Buses

Stagecoach operates several bus services in Northamptonshire.

You can apply for a Journey Assistance Card if you need extra help on buses. The cards make it easier to tell bus drivers what extra help you need.

You can apply for Journey Assistance Cards if you have limited vision or hearing, difficulty communicating, or special educational needs. You can also apply if English is not your first language or if you need extra time or help to find a seat.

Apply for a Journey Assistance Card

Community transport in West Northamptonshire

Community transport is specifically designed to help those who cannot use public transport. Reasons might include age, disability, or the lack of a public transport service. Community transport schemes are operated directly by community organisations.

Each organisation offers different levels of service. The services are provided by voluntary, non-profit making organisations. Contact your local community transport scheme for more information.

Find out more about community transport.

Private transport

Taxis

All drivers must have ID and a license displayed clearly.

You can catch a Hackney Cab Taxi in the street. They look like black cabs and have an illuminated taxi sign on the roof.

You cannot stop taxis and minicabs in the street. They must be booked beforehand using either a phone call or an app.

The Access to Work grant can help towards the extra costs of taxi fares if public transport is not appropriate to get to work.

Blue Badge Parking

A Blue Badge is a disabled parking permit for people with severe mobility issues or non-visible (hidden) conditions. If a person struggles with journeys between a vehicle and their destination, the Blue Badge allows them to park closer.

If you are the parent of a child who is less than three years old, you may apply for a Blue Badge for your child if they have a specific medical condition, which means they:

  • always need to be accompanied by bulky medical equipment which cannot be carried around without great difficulty
  • have to be kept near a vehicle at all times so that they can, if necessary, be treated in the vehicle or quickly driven to a place where they can be treated, such as a hospital

Find out more about blue badges.

Motability Scheme

The Motability Scheme enables disabled people to use their mobility allowances to lease a new car, scooter, or power wheelchair.

The Scheme is open to those who receive any of the following:

  • Higher Rate Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
  • War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement (WPMS)
  • the Enhanced Rate Mobility Component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
  • the Enhanced Rate Mobility Component of Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP)

Family members or carers can drive the car on behalf of the disabled person covered with insurance for up to three named drivers.

Home-to-school travel assistance

Special educational needs school travel assistance

The Travel Coordination Unit (TCU) looks after home-to-school transport for children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).

The TCU is only for children aged 5-16 years with an Education, Health, and Care (EHC) Plan. Applying to the TCU is the only way travel assistance applications can be considered.

Once applications are received, the TCU will review and process them, and carry out any required checks.

Requests for SEND home-to-school travel assistance that will start at the beginning of the new academic year (September) should be submitted to the TCU before the end of May.

Travel arrangements for the new academic year will be communicated to applicants in mid-August.

Existing travel arrangements for pupils transitioning from Year 6 to Year 7, remaining at the same school, will not renew automatically. In these situations, a new application form must be submitted to the TCU for consideration.

Special educational needs post-16 travel assistance

Young people with SEND are not automatically entitled to help with transport between home and post-16 education providers.

The local authority must publish an annual transport policy that outlines the travel arrangements for young people in post-16 education settings. The policy includes details for those with SEND.

You can learn more about post-16 SEND transport eligibility in the local authority’s Policy for Post-16 Transport.

Changing Places

'Changing Places' toilets meet the needs of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) or physical disabilities (such as spinal injuries, muscle-wasting conditions, and multiple sclerosis). An interactive Changing Places map can be found at Changing Places Toilets.

Other useful schemes

The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower is a discreet sign that the wearer has a hidden disability and may need extra support. The lanyards can be especially useful when travelling.

The ‘Just a Minute’ (JAM) Card allows people with a hidden disability or communication barrier to tell others that they need extra time and understanding in a discreet way. It’s available for free as a digital app or physical card.

The ‘Just Can’t Wait’ Card is designed to help people with incontinence get support and understanding when they’re out and about.

The Northamptonshire ‘Keep Safe’ Card can be shown to somebody if you’re out and about and need help. The card tells people who to call on your behalf if something goes wrong.

The Radar NKS Key offers disabled people independent access to locked public toilets nationwide.

Search the Local Offer directory.

Last updated 12 December 2023