Communication Accessibility in Public Transport

In this project, we investigated the communication accessibility of public transport in Rotterdam, with particular attention to people who are communication-vulnerable. A key aim was to identify what SLT students learn about communication accessibility in public transport and how this influences their professional identity. Data were collected through mystery visits conducted by SLT students. They travelled by public transport together with a travel companion who had lived experience of communication vulnerability. The dataset consisted of photographs (five per student), a completed customer journey map, and transcripts of four focus-group interviews with students. Data were collected between 1 September 2021 and 1 December 2021 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The findings showed that experiential learning through mystery visits enables SLT students to develop practice-relevant knowledge about communication accessibility in public transport and to further refine their professional identity as advocates for communicative participation in the community. Embedding structured observation and reflection with communication-vulnerable travel companions in SLT education may strengthen graduates’ competence to collaborate with public service providers on communication-accessible design and communication-supportive interactions.