Website: https://www.westmidlandsmetro.com
Employees: 100+
Industry: Public Transport
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
West Midlands Metro is a leading light rail network connecting communities across the West Midlands, recognised as the region's most preferred mode of public transport with a customer satisfaction score of 91%. As part of the wider West Midlands transport network, Metro has consistently shown leadership in putting passengers first.
With the introduction of Buy Before You Board and penalty fares, Metro recognised the opportunity to lead the way in ensuring these changes worked for all passengers, including neurodivergent and vulnerable members of the public. Metro approached National Neurodiversity Training to equip its Revenue team with the skills and confidence to deliver fair, safe interactions for everyone.
National Neurodiversity Training partnered with the Safer Travel Partnership on the first-ever lived-experience and expert-led research into how neurodivergent people access public transport in the West Midlands. Over a year, the project combined surveys and interviews with neurodivergent passengers across the region.
The research found that 38% of neurodivergent passengers have felt unsafe or witnessed incidents on public transport, almost double the rate reported by neurotypical passengers. It also found that 60% of neurodivergent passengers would feel safer if staff were trained in neurodiversity, with ticket purchasing identified as the point of highest anxiety in the journey.
For Metro's Revenue team, the move to Buy Before You Board and penalty fares introduced more time-pressured interactions with passengers. Time pressure can increase anxiety for neurodivergent and vulnerable passengers and reduce communication clarity, which can lead to misunderstandings, complaints, and missed opportunities to support people fairly.
Metro recognised this as a chance to act on the research findings and strengthen its Revenue team's ability to support every passenger with confidence, helping to maintain its position as the region's most trusted transport provider.
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said:
“I’m proud we are working with partners at National Neurodiversity Training so we can take action with our staff to make our public transport safer, more welcoming and more accessible, delivering on my priority of improving journeys for everyone.”
This training programme was built directly on the findings of our year-long research with the Safer Travel Partnership, ensuring the content reflected the real experiences and needs of neurodivergent passengers in the West Midlands.
National Neurodiversity Training worked closely with Metro's Revenue management team to design a bespoke programme for Revenue Officers, Supervisors, and Managers. The training was strategically aligned to Metro's priorities, focusing on the realities of fare enforcement and passenger interactions.
Delivered in person, the training combined lived-experience-led facilitation with scenario-based learning and guided reflection. Learners explored the neurodivergent passenger journey, communication strategies for fair and safe interactions, and how to apply neuroinclusive approaches to everyday fare interactions through realistic scenarios and case studies.
The programme was designed and delivered by neurodivergent professionals, ensuring Metro benefited from National Neurodiversity Training's lived-experience and data-backed approach to build practical understanding and promote lasting behavioural change.
These results reflect a meaningful shift in how Metro's frontline team approaches everyday interactions, building the practical skills needed to recognise and respond to neurodivergent passengers with patience and clarity.
For People and Customer leaders in transport and frontline service sectors, these results show what's possible when neurodiversity and training is grounded data and built into operational learning. Better-equipped staff mean fewer misunderstandings, reduced complaint volumes, and stronger passenger trust, all of which support smoother service delivery and protect an organisation's reputation during periods of change.
Metro continues to build on this work, with learners able to progress onto National Neurodiversity Training's advanced Neurodiversity for Travel track. This reflects Metro's ongoing commitment, alongside the wider Safer Travel Partnership, to leading the way on accessible, inclusive travel in the West Midlands, and the kind of long-term, hand-in-glove culture partnership National Neurodiversity Training is proud to support.
Looking to build neurodiversity capability and confidence across your frontline teams? Book a free consultation to see how National Neurodiversity Training can support you.
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