Disabled Consumers Living in Rural Scotland: Experiences of Transport, Health and Social Care and Leisure

This mixed-methods study examines the experiences of disabled people living in rural Scotland, focusing on access to transport, healthcare, social care, and leisure activities. It identifies transport as a fundamental enabling system that underpins access to all other services, with failures in transport directly limiting participation in daily life. The research highlights three core barriers: availability, cost, and accessibility, which together create significant obstacles for rural disabled consumers. Participants report the need to frequently adapt their behaviour, including limiting journeys or avoiding activities altogether, due to unreliable or inaccessible transport. The study also emphasises the emotional and psychological impacts of these barriers, including stress, anxiety, and social isolation. It demonstrates the compounded disadvantage experienced at the intersection of disability and rurality and calls for more integrated, flexible, and inclusive transport solutions. Recommendations include improving accessibility standards, expanding demand-responsive transport, and embedding lived experience into policy design.