At Midland Metro Limited (MML) we want to provide:

• An experience that works for everyone
• Services that disabled people can use independently where possible and that does not place them at a disadvantage.

We know that disabled people sometimes need our help and support to use our services. This can mean that we need to provide something different so they can access and use our services in the same way as a non-disabled person.

By listening carefully and responding to what people need, we can make a real difference and help to provide an experience that works for everyone.

This policy sets out what a reasonable adjustment is, how to make a reasonable adjustment request to us, our duties and responsibilities when reviewing a request and what factors we may consider as part of this process.

What is a reasonable adjustment?

We’re able to do lots of things that mean that disabled people can use our services independently wherever possible and in a way that is fair, for example:

• Providing documents in different formats, such as large print, audio or easy to read.
• Making sure our buildings and trams are accessible.
• Providing dedicated spaces onboard our trams for wheelchair users.
• Having audio and visual announcements on our tram network.
• Providing documents on coloured paper or with a specific colour contrast, which can often help people with conditions such as dyslexia.

This list doesn’t include everything we can do to help, and we’ll always talk to you first about what you need.

How to arrange a reasonable adjustment?

Disabilities affect people differently so we will not make assumptions about whether a disabled person requires any adjustments or what those adjustments should be. If you have a disability, it may mean you can’t access our information and/or services, please get in touch with us.

The safety of our customers, colleagues and members of the public will always be our priority. Therefore, it will always be our preference for requests for reasonable adjustment to be reviewed by our safety team.

You can request help and support as a reasonable adjustment by phone, email or in writing. We consider each request individually and aim to agree to any adjustments with you to avoid us making incorrect assumptions about your needs.

To discuss our guidance in more detail, please contact a member of our customer service team.  

How do we decide what is reasonable?

We will use the guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission when considering your request. This means that we will assess:

Will the adjustment help in overcoming the difficulty that the disabled person may have? The adjustment should be designed to fully address the disadvantage it is meant to overcome.

• How practical is it to provide the adjustment?
  What are the resource implications of making the adjustment?

How much will it cost and is this proportionate to the adjustment being requested.

• Would the adjustment cause disruption to others?
  For example, it would not usually be reasonable for MML to cease work and devote all of our time to help one person, as others will inevitably suffer.

Each of these factors will be carefully considered and where appropriate discussed with you to ensure that our understanding of your needs is accurate.

Our response to requests

We will try to agree to a reasonable adjustment with a minimum of delay, while ensuring that any risks are identified and balanced against the benefits that the adjustment will provide to your journey.

In some cases, we may need to consider your request in more detail. For example, where the adjustment requested may be difficult to provide or where it may have an impact on our conditions of carriage, legislative, or operational contractual obligations.

There may be circumstances where we decide not to meet the request.  The law says that an adjustment must be made if it is reasonable. In these circumstances, we will communicate with you to make every effort to reach a reasonable compromise.

Monitoring

We will record and monitor the reasonable adjustments that have been requested and made. This will allow us to review the services we provide and help us to identify whether there are any wider steps that we can take to improve our services.

Our legal duties

The Equality Act 2010 protects the rights of disabled people and requires anyone providing goods, facilities or services to the public to consider making adjustments.  If those adjustments are reasonable, they must be made. 

Under the Equality Act, a disabled person is anyone with “a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities”.

It is important to us that we provide an experience that works for everyone.

Complaints regarding your reasonable adjustment request

If you are dissatisfied with our response to your request for reasonable adjustment or with the adjustment provided, you can complain to us.  We will respond in accordance with our complaints policy.