Disabled people’s access to transport has been called a “national embarrassment” by MPs on a parliamentary committee, who said a new enforcement regime was needed to uphold their right to travel.

A report from the Commons transport select committee highlighted the experience of people with disabilities in using British transport services, from accounts of wheelchair users left on planes to taxi drivers refusing to take a guide dog, or people being unable to navigate pavements blocked by obstructions.

The report said that in some areas addressing access to services had gone into reverse since the Covid pandemic. More than two-thirds of disabled respondents to the committee’s call for evidence said they encountered problems using transport either “always” or “most of the time” – and less than 2% said they never experienced obstacles to travel.

More than half said they regularly decided against making a journey because they expected to face difficulties in travelling.

Many reported that provisions apparently put in place, from designated wheelchair spaces in buses to passenger assistance on train services, were often ineffective or unavailable when needed, sometimes due to lack of staff.

The MPs said that while anti-discrimination laws should work in theory, the reality was very different. The committee called for a review of all relevant legislation and powers and resources of enforcement bodies across all types of transport – potentially setting up a single enforcement body to maintain disabled people’s rights.

Ruth Cadbury, chair of the committee, said: “It should be a source of national embarrassment that our country’s transport services effectively treat disabled people as second-class citizens, denying them access to jobs, leisure, support networks and essential services – denying them their rights.

“And yet, those who have been let down and want redress or compensation face a spaghetti junction of complaints processes that either fob them off or lead them on a road to nowhere. Even when complaints are resolved, lessons aren’t learnt, changes aren’t put in place, and it’s tempting to think that the small and occasional penalties for failure are accepted by providers as a mere cost of doing business.

“Failures must go from being an everyday occurrence to vanishingly rare. In its reforms to transport services over this parliament, the government must ensure people with access needs no longer go unseen, unheard and unacknowledged. This should be underpinned with a new inclusive transport strategy, backed by long-term funding.”

The report stressed that across the transport system, accessibility for disabled people must be recognised as a human right and failures should be seen as discrimination, not merely as a customer service issue. It added: “A change of mindset is needed at all levels among providers, regulators and enforcers.”

MPs found that disabled people were also left with too great a burden when making complaints or seeking redress at their own expense – with even successful complaints rarely leading to lasting change. They urged that a unified, user-friendly complaints service should be established within 12 months to cover all transport modes.

Among the witnesses to the committee was Tanni Grey-Thompson, the former Paralympic wheelchair racer, who told them: “In my lifetime, I will not be able to get on a train without the permission or support of a non-disabled person.”

Grey-Thompson was since forced to drag herself off a train at King’s Cross when staff failed to assist.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “It’s clear that accessibility has been an afterthought in developing transport services and there is more to do to ensure everyone can travel easily and with dignity.

“We continue to work closely with a range of people, including disabled people, to help us develop our policies, and we will consider these recommendations carefully and respond as soon as possible.”