Empowering Autistic Travel: a project on transport accessibility

Anna Taylor is the Social Researcher at the National Autistic Society. They share insights about our new Empowering Autistic Travel report findings and how transport needs to be more accessible for autistic people.

In spring 2024, the National Autistic Society began work on a user-led research project exploring transport accessibility for autistic adults in the UK. Over the course of a year, we heard from thousands of autistic people, as well as parents, through surveys, interviews, focus groups and more. What followed was a report, grounded in real autistic experiences, sharing the common challenges and impact of getting around by train, bus or taxi and autistic-led ideas for change.

The issue

Many of us may recognise public transport as a sensory nightmare or have our own stories of disastrous cancellations and delays. For autistic people, such challenges are often more than an inconvenience and can cause distress and exhaustion lasting for hours or days. Difficult transport environments and experiences can restrict autistic people’s ability to travel, limiting access to work, education, medical care, leisure and social connection.

“All I could think about was being trapped on the bus. Even at high volume, my music couldn’t block the noises out. There were a lot of different smells (perfume, sweat, food), and I started to feel a bit nauseous. Then, the bus entered a tunnel and a bright light switched on. My body was tense, I had to actively control my breathing, and I was holding back tears. I realised later that I’d been biting the insides of my cheek. I got off at the next stop and stood there for a little while, crying. I walked the rest of the way.”

- Harper

Like Harper, many of the autistic people we spoke to described their journeys as all-consuming. Often, autistic people have to alight early or change their travel plans because it becomes too much to cope with. It’s not just the sensory experiences on board which can have an impact, it’s also:

needing thorough planning, but not being able to find the necessary information
dealing with anticipatory anxiety
being judged or criticised by other passengers
making decisions and rerouting after cancellations
finding a new way home when the journey must be abandoned
needing time to regulate, process and recover from travel
missing important appointments or catch-ups with friends
being restricted to particular services which feel more accessible.

Asking for support

We heard from autistic people that this constant process of preparing for travel, adapting as well as they can and still not being able to complete their journey or enduring lasting effects can knock their confidence. The attitudes of people around them can sometimes worsen negative feelings, as well as dissuade them from asking for help.

“Too often, I’ve been met with scepticism when I ask for support. I’ve had staff tell me I ‘look fine’ and imply I shouldn’t expect help. During shutdowns, when I go quiet, people assume I’m drunk or just being awkward. They don’t realise I’m completely overloaded.”

- Cerys

People like Cerys deserve to travel with dignity. Many autistic people shared that they are discriminated against or shut down by others who don’t believe that they are autistic, or who act as though they are an inconvenience. More must be done to ensure that everyone, including transport staff, understands autism and that support reaches those who need it.

Travel insights and resources

Whether you have sworn off public transport, regularly use it with difficulty, support an autistic person to travel or are involved in the industry professionally, we urge you to visit the project page to see how our findings could help you.

On this page, you’ll also find a short video clip introducing the research, case studies written with autistic people, guides and articles. Please take the time to tell us what you think in the feedback questions at the bottom of the page.

This was an exciting piece of work for the Evidence and Research team to be involved in, as it gave us the opportunity to speak directly with the autistic community about an important issue in everyday life. We are grateful to the thousands of people who took part. The team give heartfelt thanks to our eight autistic co-design group members, who who worked with us on the project, and the Motability Foundation, who funded this research.