Following rigorous testing and evaluation by users with a range of disabilities, this site was awarded the Shaw Trust’s ‘Accessible’ rating.

The Shaw Trust is a national charity which supports disabled and disadvantaged people to prepare for work, find jobs and live more independently.

Its accessibility accreditation service has BS EN ISO 13407 approval for Human-centred Design Processes for Interactive Systems, and ensures that websites comply with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).

To achieve the rating, members of Metro’s web team worked with people whose disabilities ranged from blindness and visual impairments to dyslexia and mobility-impairment, who use speech recognition software and screen readers to navigate websites.

Members of Metro’s web team also spent a day with the Shaw Trust assessors seeing how the various assistive technologies worked in practice.

Continuing development

PR Manager, Martin Driver said: “Working alongside people with a range of disabilities has enabled us to learn a lot about this section of our web audience and how valuable an accessible website is to them.

“The award has also alerted us to ways in which we can continue to make improvements and ensure the best possible experience for all visitors to our websites.”

Find us on Facebook and Twitter

Visited by around one million people a month, Metro’s website provides information on bus and train travel across West Yorkshire. A travel alerts service also keeps people up to date with disruptions, delays and timetable changes.

People can also follow Metro’s transport updates on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MetroTravelNews and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/westyorkshiremetro.