At Surrey Choices, we work with Surrey County Council to support people attending our day support, skills development, and employment services to travel independently in their local community through tailored travel training.. This is part of the ‘Travelling My Way’ initiative.
The Travel Choices Team will work with you to create a Personal Travel Plan to support you to access your community, work, social events or leisure activities.
Working With You
We will work with you at every stage of your plan to help you to find the best way to travel which could include:
- Walking
- Getting a train
- Getting a bus
- Cycling
A Valuable Life Skill
Independent travel is a valuable life skill which provides greater opportunities for you as well as an essential employment skill. As part of your individualised travel training programme, you will be given one-to-one personalised support by a Travel Trainer. The programme will help you to:
- Journey Plan
- Improve your confidence
- Increase your independence
- Help towards you finding and keeping a job
- Improve your health and wellbeing
- Learn problem solving and time management skills
- Feel safe while travelling by teaching you road and personal safety skills
- Do your bit for the environment
What is Independent Travel Training?
There are different stages to Independent Travel Training, which are:
Stage 1 – An assessment prior to the training – Your Travel Coach will complete a route assessment to and from your destination and identify all the risks and hazards, safe points and landmarks. This is so that the Personal Independent Training Plan is tailored around you and your needs. You will then have an assessment to find out what skills you have and what support you need.
Stage 2 – Road safety and using public transport – Your Travel Coach can build on the skills you already have to support you to be safe whilst out in the community. You and your Travel Coach will make the journey together, looking at what you need to travel safely, including planning a route, crossing roads and being aware of your surroundings, so that you can become confident traveller. You will learn useful skills like how to read timetables, pay for a ticket and use travel apps.
Stage 3 – ‘What if’ scenarios – This will include scenarios such as if the bus breaks down or you lose your travel pass. The travel training covers general safety aspects as well as the ones specific to the journey. Once the Travel Coach is comfortable about your confidence in doing the journey, you can move on to the next stage.
Stage 4 – Shadowing from a distance – Once you and your Travel Coach are satisfied that you can complete the journey on your own, they will step back a little and you will begin to make sections of the journey by yourself. This is called ‘shadowing’. The Travel Coach can stay in touch with you via your mobile or arrange to meet you at a specific point of the journey.
Stage 5 – Keeping in touch with you – After you have been travel trained and you have been signed off as an independent traveller, Surrey Choices will check in with you to see if it is going well and to give you the opportunity to get in touch if you need any further support.