{"id":124853,"date":"2026-08-29T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=124853"},"modified":"2026-08-29T01:38:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T00:38:57","slug":"motability-reveals-plans-disabled-drivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/motability-reveals-plans-disabled-drivers\/","title":{"rendered":"Motability Reveals New Plans That Could Change How Disabled Drivers Influence Future Decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The <strong>Motability Scheme<\/strong> will introduce regular customer town halls from 2027, creating new opportunities for users to share their experiences and raise concerns about the programme\u2019s development. The meetings will form part of a wider customer engagement programme that includes surveys, research studies and face-to-face discussions. According to Motability Operations, the aim is to ensure customers\u2019 experiences continue to inform decisions about the future of the scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>New Town Halls to Connect Customers With Scheme Leaders<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The planned quarterly town halls will bring together disabled people, their families and carers with representatives responsible for managing the <strong>Motability Scheme<\/strong>. Participants will be able to help decide which subjects are discussed, with conversations covering both the service itself and wider issues affecting mobility and daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The announcement follows a pledge from <a href=\"https:\/\/uk.linkedin.com\/in\/andrew-miller-194b1b1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Andrew Miller<\/a>, chief executive of <strong>Motability Operations<\/strong>, who said customers should have a \u201creal voice\u201d in the future of the scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c<em>As the world continues to change around us, we want customers to have a real voice in the Scheme\u2019s future<\/em>,\u201d Miller said. \u201c<em>To me, that means getting even closer to our customers, hearing what matters most to them and making sure those experiences continue to shape our decisions<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the Daily Record, the new meetings will build on existing face-to-face sessions, including focus groups held during Motability Scheme Live events in Birmingham and Edinburgh. The Edinburgh session is set to include participation from <a href=\"https:\/\/uk.linkedin.com\/in\/lisa-thomas-2858598\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lisa Thomas<\/a>, chief customer officer for the scheme, and <a href=\"https:\/\/uk.linkedin.com\/in\/gavin-robert-thomson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gavin Thomson<\/a>, chief operating officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thomas said customer feedback was important in ensuring the programme continued to meet the needs of users and their families. \u201c<em>Listening to them &#8211; not just about the Scheme, but about the things that matter in their lives &#8211; will help ensure it continues to meet their needs now and in the future<\/em>,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"727\" src=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/Motability-launches-customer-town-halls-to-give-drivers-a-stronger-voice-\u00a9-Shutterstock-1200x727.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-124855\" srcset=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/Motability-launches-customer-town-halls-to-give-drivers-a-stronger-voice-\u00a9-Shutterstock-1200x727.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/Motability-launches-customer-town-halls-to-give-drivers-a-stronger-voice-\u00a9-Shutterstock-380x230.jpg 380w, https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/Motability-launches-customer-town-halls-to-give-drivers-a-stronger-voice-\u00a9-Shutterstock-520x315.jpg 520w, https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/Motability-launches-customer-town-halls-to-give-drivers-a-stronger-voice-\u00a9-Shutterstock-1536x931.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/Motability-launches-customer-town-halls-to-give-drivers-a-stronger-voice-\u00a9-Shutterstock.jpg 1980w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Motability launches customer town halls to give drivers a stronger voice \u00a9 Shutterstock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Customer Feedback Has Already Shaped Changes to Services<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The new engagement plans expand on existing research programmes used by <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/motability-changes-explained-customers\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"123416\">Motability <\/a>Operations<\/strong> to gather views from customers. Around 6,000 people are already part of Headlight, the scheme\u2019s customer research community, which allows users to share their experiences and opinions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Motability Operations, feedback from customers has already contributed to changes, including the decision to pause the <strong>Drive Smart<\/strong> programme earlier in 2026. The service was introduced in September 2025 to support safer driving and help manage insurance costs, but some users raised concerns about the app and the way it affected their driving experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The programme used a device to monitor driving behaviour, providing information on areas such as <strong>speed <\/strong>and <strong>braking<\/strong>. Drivers received scores after journeys and could earn points linked to discounts. Motability began removing customers from the scheme in May after confirming that changes would be made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Customer research has also been used when reviewing other areas of the programme, including changes made after the 2025 Autumn Budget. According to Motability Operations, customer feedback helped inform decisions around maintaining its all-inclusive package, which covers insurance, servicing, maintenance and breakdown support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The organisation also uses its EV <strong>Transition Tracker<\/strong> to examine the experiences and barriers faced by disabled motorists as they move from petrol and diesel vehicles towards electric cars. The new town halls, research groups and existing feedback channels are intended to provide more opportunities for customers to influence how the <strong>Motability Scheme<\/strong> develops in the coming years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Motability has announced plans to give customers a greater say in the future of the scheme. New meetings and feedback opportunities will allow drivers and families to discuss the issues affecting them. The move follows previous changes influenced by customer feedback.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":124856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124853"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124857,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124853\/revisions\/124857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}