We’re delighted to share that Open Road Access (ORA) has been named a finalist in the Ground Transport category at the Travel For Every Body Awards 2026, run by Selling Travel magazine.
It’s a genuinely proud moment for the whole team. We’re up against Avanti West Coast and Eurostar, which says a lot about how far accessible transport has come as a category worth recognising properly, alongside some of the biggest names in UK travel.
What the Award Recognises
The Travel For Every Body Awards are now in their second year, part of Selling Travel‘s wider campaign championing accessible and inclusive travel across the industry. This year’s awards saw a higher number of entries than the inaugural edition, judged by a panel that includes accessible travel journalist and broadcaster Sophie Morgan, Emma Partlow, CEO of the National Centre for Accessible Transport, and several other specialists with direct lived experience of disability and accessible travel.
Also Read: Open Road Access Named Double Finalist At CMSUK Awards 2026
The Ground Transport category recognises the organisations doing the most to make everyday journeys on the road and rail genuinely accessible, not as an afterthought, but as a core part of how the service is built. Being shortlisted alongside major national rail operators, as a wheelchair accessible vehicle hire company, is exactly the kind of recognition we’ve been working toward.
Why This Matters To Us
We started ORA with a simple aim: to make independent travel possible for wheelchair users and their families, without the barriers that have made accessible transport feel like an afterthought for too long. Being recognised in a category alongside operators of Avanti West Coast’s and Eurostar’s scale is a meaningful sign that flexible, door-to-door wheelchair accessible vehicle hire is being seen as a serious part of the UK’s accessible transport landscape, not a niche within it.
It also reflects work that goes well beyond the vehicles themselves. Over the past year we’ve been part of the Department for Transport’s Automated Passenger Services Accessibility Advisory Panel, contributing to policy conversations about the future of accessible transport, alongside the day-to-day work of getting families to weddings, funerals, hospital appointments, and holidays.
What Happens Next
The winners will be announced at a ceremony on 1 October at voco Manchester. Whatever the outcome, being named a finalist alongside such strong competition is recognition in itself, and a reminder of why we do this work in the first place.
Also Read: Powered Mobility Reform ORA Response To UK Consultation
Thank you to everyone who’s supported ORA along the way, our customers, our partners, and the wider accessible travel community whose feedback and lived experience continues to shape what we build.
About Open Road Access
Open Road Access (ORA) is a UK-wide wheelchair accessible vehicle hire company. We offer short-term, flexible, and long-term hire from one day to one year, with nationwide door-to-door delivery and collection. All hires include insurance, breakdown cover, and delivery and collection to your address.
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