Name: Rail Inclusivity: Adelaide's Communication Access Symbol
Uploaded: 2024-07-09T01:41:21.960Z
Description: Join Jackson Koch, Access and Inclusion Officer at Keolis Downer in Adelaide as he shares how the company has enhanced its network's accessibility and earned the Communication Access Symbol. Hear the positive feedback from passengers and the innovative tools and training programs designed to ensure a more comfortable travel experience for all.

Jackson Koch export 2.vtt

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So the feedback has been

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really, really positive.

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We've rolled it out in

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a few different places

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in different ways.

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And I guess the feedback is

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that it makes our network

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much more accessible.

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It seems to reduce the anxiety

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of catching our network and

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make it a more comfortable

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experience for those who

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may not have used it before.

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Hi there.

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My name's Jackson Koch.

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And I am the access and

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inclusion officer from

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Keolis Downer in Adelaide.

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So the communication access

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symbol, I guess is a symbol

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that identifies that a

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business has made itself

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communication accessible.

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What that means is it meets

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a set of standards, and that

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its staff have been trained

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in communication accessibility

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and it has tools available

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for its staff to use to

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increase that communication

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accessibility for all its

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passengers on the network.

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So we implemented this

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with a speech therapy

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provider in Adelaide

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called Two Way Street.

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We got them to come in and

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do some pre research just to

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establish what our current

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communication strategies were

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and where we were lacking.

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And they developed a five

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stage process on how to make

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us communication accessible.

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So it started

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with the research.

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From this research we

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developed three tools.

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So we had communication

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cards, social stories, and

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communication booklets that

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our staff can utilize to

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engage with our passengers.

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From there our staff undertook

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training in utilizing these

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resources to make sure

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that they were competent in

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doing so before being put

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through some assessments

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out on the track to ensure

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that they could do so

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in real world scenarios.

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And lastly, we want

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to be sustainable.

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So we'll continue to

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provide ongoing training

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to all staff as they

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come into the business.

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And make sure that

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refreshers are available

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to those that need it.

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I guess one of the biggest

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challenges when you're

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working in a shift work

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environment like rail is

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training all the staff.

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It was I guess a challenge to

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make sure we could get them

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all in one place at one time,

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whilst also making sure that

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the network ran properly.

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So it did take a good

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nine months to get the

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initial staff trained up.

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And now it's a bit smoother

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running as we just sort

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of provide that training

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ongoing to new staff.

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So we've informed passengers

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in a number of ways.

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We did a launch at our main

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station in Adelaide, where we

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were actually handing out some

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of these tools to passengers

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to have on their person.

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And we also do this at a

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number of different disability

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and inclusion expos around

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Adelaide to make sure that the

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message is out there and that

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people are able to utilize it.

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So the feedback has been

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really, really positive.

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We've rolled it out in

{{00:02:52}}
a few different places

{{00:02:54}}
in different ways.

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And I guess the feedback is

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that it makes our network

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much more accessible.

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It seems to reduce the anxiety

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of catching our network and

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make it a more comfortable

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experience for those who

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may not have used it before.

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They may feel that they

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are able to now, and

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have the tools necessary

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to make that possible.

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So it's a big space and

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it's an important space.

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I think there's a lot

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of things that can

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happen moving forward.

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In particular, in

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Adelaide we've got some

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new things coming out.

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So we've made tips and tricks

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booklets in easy English,

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to support people prior to

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writing our network to make

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sure that they're comfortable

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doing so, as well as things

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to increase inclusivity

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for cold communities.

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We've made some podcasts

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in multiple different

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languages, again to make

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sure people are comfortable

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riding our network.

Urban Rail

Expert Insight

Join Jackson Koch, Access and Inclusion Officer at Keolis Downer in Adelaide as he shares how the company has enhanced its network's accessibility and earned the Communication Access Symbol. Hear the positive feedback from passengers and the innovative tools and training programs designed to ensure a more comfortable travel experience for all.