Seventy-five per cent of blind and partially sighted people of working age are not in employment. That figure is not explained by a shortage of capable candidates. It is explained, in large part, by the barriers that prevent them from getting — and staying — in work. Transport is one of the most significant and least discussed of those barriers.
The Journey Starts Before the Interview
When a blind or partially sighted candidate applies for a role, one of the first practical questions they face is: can I actually get there? Not “will I perform well” or “do I have the right skills” — but whether the physical journey to the workplace is viable, consistent, and safe enough to rely on five days a week.
This isn’t overthinking. It’s necessary planning. A blind or partially sighted person building a route to a new location needs to learn it — often in advance, often with support, and often with a level of preparation that sighted candidates simply don’t require. That investment of time and energy happens before a single interview question is answered.
What the Data Tells Us
The Motability Foundation has identified a transport accessibility gap of 38% in the UK — meaning disabled people take 38% fewer trips than non-disabled people. That gap doesn’t disappear when someone enters the job market. It shapes which jobs they can realistically consider, which locations are viable, and which roles they rule out before even applying.
For blind and partially sighted candidates, this means the effective talent pool available to employers is being artificially narrowed — not by a lack of skill or ambition, but by a transport system that hasn’t been designed with them in mind.
The Interview Stage: Practical Barriers Employers Overlook
Most employers think about interview accessibility in terms of physical access to a building. Fewer think about what it took to get a candidate to that building.
Common issues at the interview stage include:
- Locations poorly served by accessible public transport
- Unclear or visually-presented directions that don’t translate well for a screen reader or someone using a cane
- No offer to assist with orientation on arrival — assuming the candidate will ask rather than proactively offering
- Interview times set without considering whether the candidate’s accessible route works at that hour (e.g., reduced services early morning or late evening)
- No acknowledgement in the invitation that adjustments are available
None of these are large asks. All of them make a difference to whether a candidate arrives confident and ready — or stressed and already at a disadvantage.
If you want the best candidate for the job, you need to make sure the journey to your building didn’t cost them half their energy before they walked through the door. That’s not special treatment — that’s a level playing field.
— Seema Flower, Founder and Managing Director, Blind Ambition
Once in Post: The Disruption Problem
Transport barriers don’t end at the job offer. For a blind or partially sighted employee, getting to work is a carefully constructed system — a specific route, specific stations, specific timings that have been learned and tested. When that system is disrupted, the consequences are disproportionate.
Strike action, line closures, signal failures, and replacement bus services can make a familiar route completely inaccessible at short notice. A replacement bus service that isn’t accessible, or a diversion communicated only via on-screen announcements, can mean a blind or partially sighted employee simply cannot get to work — not because they chose not to, but because the alternative route doesn’t exist for them in the same way it does for a sighted colleague.
Employers who haven’t thought about this in advance are likely to handle it poorly in the moment — treating absence as non-attendance rather than as the direct result of a systemic failure.
What Good Looks Like: Practical Steps for Employers
Employers who want to genuinely support blind and partially sighted employees around transport can take the following steps:
- Include transport in onboarding conversations. Ask new starters about their route to work, whether they’ve had the chance to travel it, and whether any adjustments would help — including flexible start times to avoid peak-hour disruption.
- Build a disruption plan. Agree in advance what happens when a key route is disrupted. This might include home working provisions, flexible hours, or a named point of contact who can help problem-solve quickly.
- Reference Access to Work. The government’s Access to Work scheme can fund a support worker or travel assistance for blind and partially sighted employees. Many employers don’t raise this — and many employees don’t know it’s available. Raise it early.
- Communicate accessibly during disruption. If there’s a planned closure or a travel alert, make sure it reaches employees in an accessible format — not just a poster in reception or a visual-only notification.
- Don’t assume remote working fixes everything. Hybrid and remote roles genuinely help some blind and partially sighted employees. But not all roles can be done remotely, and not all employees want to work from home. Remove the transport barrier — don’t simply route around it.
Tenacity, Adaptability, Resilience: The Business Case
Blind and partially sighted candidates who navigate the current employment market are, by necessity, skilled problem-solvers. They plan ahead, adapt quickly, communicate clearly about their needs, and manage risk in ways that most people never have to develop. These are not incidental traits — they are directly transferable business assets.
The 75% unemployment rate among blind and partially sighted people of working age is not a reflection of what those candidates can offer. It is a reflection of what employers, transport networks, and recruitment systems have failed to provide. Employers who address that failure practically — starting with transport — access a talent pool that their competitors are overlooking.
The Takeaway
Transport barriers are real, operational, and solvable. They cost employers access to skilled candidates and cost employees the chance to do work they’re more than capable of. Addressing them doesn’t require a large investment — it requires forethought, communication, and a genuine commitment to removing barriers rather than waiting for people to raise them.
If you’re ready to post a role and attract blind and partially sighted talent, Blind Ambition Recruitment is here to help you do it properly — from the job description to the first day in post.
About Blind Ambition Recruitment
Blind Ambition Recruitment connects employers with blind and partially sighted talent. Post your job today at recruitment.blindambition.co.uk or contact recruitment-ops@blindambition.co.uk
