At Mencap, we wanted to find out more about how
accessible
Accessible means something is easy for people to use or join in with. For example: Accessible writing means the writing is easy to read and understand.
transport in London is for people with a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
.
We were inspired to
research
Research is a way of finding out information which could come from books, or asking people what they think.
this topic after talking to colleagues with a learning disability, who said that some tube stations in London are difficult to travel through, because they are not very accessible. As this is likely to be a barrier to many people with a learning disability travelling in London, we wanted to research the accessibility of transport in and around the capital.
The perfect opportunity to research this topic came when Mencap was invited to take part in a Barclays ‘Hackathon’ event last year. Barclays Hackathons invite research ‘challenges’ from various charities across the UK. Teams of data analysts from around the world then work on solving these ‘challenges’.
In December 2017, Mencap took part in a Hackathon event held in the stunning Canary Wharf headquarters of Barclays. We joined together with other charities to ‘challenge’ Barclay’s data analysis to find out:
- how many stations in London are accessible for people with a disability
- what support is available to people with a disability travelling around the capital
- how travel can be made easier for people with a learning disability.
Around 10 teams of data analysis from around the world, including the UK, New Zealand, India and the US, took part in the event. The winning team provided a fantastic analysis of the accessibility of transport links in London.
Overall, we had a brilliant day at the Barclays Hackathon, and it has really helped us to understand more about accessible transport for people with a learning disability in London. We are looking forward to the next charity Hackathon!
If you'd like to find out more about the Hackathon, check out what Nandu Govindankutty, Customer Engagement Director at Barclays, has to say about it here.