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Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Accessibility Advisory Panel

Panel to shape guidance, share best practice and help to improve accessibility to Automated Passenger Services.

Terms of Reference

Role and purpose

The Accessibility Advisory Panel (AAP) is an external advisory panel to the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles’ (CCAV) programme of work. It provides a sounding board for the Automated Passenger Services (APS) permitting scheme.

The Panel:

  • will initially be focused on informing accessibility guidance relating to the APS pilots, which will be open to applications from Spring 2026
  • will look at identifying best practice on accessibility for these services and overseeing guidance on the reporting requirement for APS permit holders
  • is not proposed to have a formal role in the permit-granting process and legal advice is clear that their role would be advisory and non-binding on Secretary of State/DVSA as the permit granting authority

Membership

Membership is subject to change at the discretion of CCAV.

Additional CCAV colleagues, or other relevant stakeholders, may join meetings, dependent on the agenda.

Roles and responsibilities

CCAV will be responsible for providing a secretariat for the AAP.

Members of the panel will be expected to:

  • attend each meeting as requested, or if unable, notify the CCAV Secretariat in advance
  • follow up action points from meetings, reporting back to their teams and work areas as appropriate
  • adhere to the meeting rules that operate under Chatham House rules, papers submitted to the group must not be shared beyond the member’s respective organisations

Meetings

AAP meetings will usually be about 2 hours in length to allow for constructive discussion and aim to be held every 6-8 weeks. Invitations and preparatory work will be sent with as much notice as possible.

The relevant minister will be invited to join the meetings on an ad-hoc basis.

Expense claims

Travel and subsistence expenses incurred while fulfilling the responsibilities outlined in this Terms of Reference may be claimed from the Department for Transport provided they are reasonable and directly related to the work. Claims must be supported by valid receipts. Examples of eligible expenses include standard-class travel, accommodation, and meals.

Panel members and biographies

Dr George Beard BSc, CPsychol

Head of New Mobility at TRL, leading work on new mobility, accessibility, and monitoring and evaluation, with 14 years’ experience in social, behavioural and technical transport research, including improving accessibility of automated and shared transport modes.

Rakhi Jain

Spearheaded the future of mobility at Motability Operations. Now an independent consultant focused on ensuring emerging transport technologies remain accessible, working with industry partners to embed accessibility in future mobility innovation.

Catherine Marris FRSA

Director of Partnerships at Open Road Access, with experience developing PAS 1899 on EV charge point accessibility and establishing the National Centre for Accessible Transport (NCAT).

Bryan Matthews FHEA, MA, BA

Lecturer at the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, and former member of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC).

Rachael Mole CF

Churchill Fellow, advisor and DPTAC member specialising in disability equity, responsible AI and systems change.

Rebecca Posner MBPsS

Behavioural psychologist and Director of Research at Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RiDC), leading work on human-centred transport and future mobility as part of NCAT.

Dr Robin Severs

Designer and researcher specialising in human-centred design for future mobility, with a PhD in accessible shared autonomous vehicles. Robin currently works at the Satellite Applications Catapult.

Edward Trewhella

DPTAC member and Chair of its Personal Mobility Working Group, focusing on independent travel for disabled people, including accessibility and inclusivity in automated vehicle design.

Dr Anuraj Varshney DProf, MA, OTR (USA), PgCLT (HE)

Accessibility and mobility specialist, Consultant Practitioner and Head of Service at South East DriveAbility (NHS), supporting individuals to regain driving independence. Dr Varshney is a recipient of the 2025 RCOT Merit Award.

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