Accessible Travel Simulation: Building confidence to travel
Travelling by train can be daunting for people who are anxious or need Passenger Assistance, including disabled customers and those with hidden conditions. But is also fundamental to enabling education, employment & social interaction.
With partner Chrome Angel Solutions who won DfT Research & Innovation funding, this first of a kind simulation serious game was developed and piloted with Northern and Community Rail Lancashire.
Users choose a character and scenario that represents their needs and then “play the game” of taking a VR simulated journey to experience trains, stations and interact with staff in a realistic simulated environment to build confidence to travel. The application is available on their own phones, tablets, PCs or in Virtual Reality headsets for a fully immersive experience, enabling engagement at scale.
The project has won major industry awards and continues to develop, it is now being used as part of the Northern Try the Train programme and in classrooms as part of educational programmes supporting thousands of children each year.